Of Crystals Born
by Spiritslayer
Summary: Sequel to The Galian. Vincent and Tifa are ready to settle down, to start their new life together. Time doesn't offer them this luxury just yet, however, as a forgotten enemy pairs with a new one. And both enemies seem focused on these two in particular..
1. Finding the Crystal

_So... How's everyone been? I've been busy, myself. I'd have to be to already have a sequel in the works! And yet, I can't seem to bring myself to work on Hiding Secrets... Hm..._

_This is the second of two ideas for a sequel. I was working on both in the last week, and decided this one was much better; the other one strays from the two main characters, and I couldn't have that. In fact, none of the original FFVII cast has much part in the other one... (shifty eyes to the right) But as I said, this was much better, I thought, and I'm quite enjoying writing it as much as you may enjoy reading it. Time will tell, ultimately._

_Without further ado, here's the first chapter of the sequel to The Galian, Of Crystals Born. -Spiritslayer_

* * *

After the event people referred to as Meteorfall, the only visitors the Northern Crater had received were the Turks. It had been two years since they had visited, however, and times change.

For a new visitor was steadily approaching the enormous crater, long silver hair billowing behind as they walked. Their green eyes weren't the same cat-like eyes Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo had, but rather round. The figure emitted a powerful aura, one that could very well have intimidated anyone with ease. In the figure's left hand rested a wicked-looking staff, one that looked as though it were intended for melee combat.

A soft, feminine voice cursed quietly as she nearly lost her footing. She gave a small sigh and spun the staff around in her hand, holding it reverse grip. She positioned it near her feet and channeled an exceptionally powerful Float spell into an orb upon the staff's tip. The orb glowed and she stepped onto the staff's crescent, tilting the staff forward slightly. It began moving down the crater, carrying its wielder with it as she went. She came upon wind barriers and gave a small, inward smirk, passing through them effortlessly.

She was determined to find the location of the final battle, even if it took her days on end to accomplish. She had to find where the great Sephiroth had been supposedly crushed.

Although he may not remember her, she remembered him. She remembered their time together, however short it may have been.

The Float spell began faltering and she pulsed a new one into the staff's orb, urging it along faster. The spell stopped faltering, at least for a little while longer. She knew she'd probably have to do it at least ten more times before she found the great Sephiroth himself. Or rather, where he fought.

A sudden burst of wind rode her sleeves up her arms, revealing arms heavily laden with Geostigma. She glanced at the reminders of her past and actually smiled. Her Geostigma still being there meant he was calling to those with it. A pity she was probably the only one left with Geostigma.

As she floated toward the crater's center, she recalled the last exchange she had with Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo.

_"Brother, you mustn't do this! Not yet!"_

_Kadaj gave her a contemptuous look. "If we don't act upon Mother's will now, then who knows what will happen!" he retorted, glaring daggers at her. "Sister, why do you insist on stopping us? Do you not wish to see Mother again? Do you not wish to see him again?"_

_She sighed slowly, head falling forward slightly. "Of course I do. But..."_

_"But what, sister? What could possibly deter you from our Reunion with them? Is it fear?"_

_She looked up at him, eyes narrowing. "How dare you suggest I'm afraid, Kadaj!" she hissed at him. "I'm simply not sure now is the time to answer Mother's call to us. His call to us."_

_Yazoo and Loz were watching almost amusedly at the two arguing. Loz was easily sided with Kadaj, whereas Yazoo was more or less on their sister's side. "Say, Kadaj. Why do we need to act now?" Yazoo offered quietly. "Perhaps our sister is right; perhaps we're better off waiting a while."_

_Loz snorted, smirking at his other brother. "Not you too," he mused. "Look, if we don't answer Mother's call now, who knows what she'll do to us later. What if someone else answers the call before us and finds Mother? What will we do when he comes to find those of us who didn't answer it?"_

_Yazoo shook his head. "But we're the only ones who knows what this is. We're the only ones who realize this is Mother calling to us."_

_Kadaj turned on his heel and walked away. "I'm going, with or without you."_

_Loz ran to join his brother, turning to Yazoo and their sister. "You two coming as well? Or are you going to sit back and wait for him to approach you, intent on making you pay for not answering?"_

_Yazoo hesitated, then looked to his sister. "We shouldn't let them do this alone, sister. We both know how incapable they can be."_

_She looked at Yazoo sadly. "Don't do this, brother," she whispered. "You don't have to..."_

_He gave her a gentle, caring hug, one that was almost reassuring. "We'll be fine. There's no sense worrying over us, and I suppose Loz has a point. If we don't do this, what will happen to us?" He slowly released her. "Come with us?"_

_She held her ground. "No," she replied flatly. "I'll act when the time is right. And it's not yet the right time."_

_Yazoo closed his eyes slowly. "As you see fit," he muttered, turning and walking toward his two brothers._

She shut her eyes quickly, absentmindedly channeling a new Float spell into the staff. "Yazoo... you said you'd be fine..." She opened her eyes, eyes lining with moisture. "But our big brother beat all of you. He even fought Sephiroth and won," she whispered to no one in particular, hand gripping the staff tightly.

"No, he won't be allowed to live any longer," she suddenly said, face set with determination. "He took my brothers from me. He took Yazoo from me, took Kadaj, took Loz. He can't be allowed to live any longer." She tilted the staff forward a little further, urging it to move faster.

She reached the central part of the crater, eyes searching it. She spotted the crystal Sephiroth himself had once inhabited, and drifted up toward it, hand brushing against it gently. She closed her eyes once more, as though doing so would allow her to sense Sephiroth all the more. She felt the Geostigma respond to something, and she slowly opened her eyes. A small gasp escaped her lips.

She was floating in darkness, still perched upon the staff's crescent. She wasn't sure if she dared step off for fear of falling into an abyss, but knew her magical capacity would wear thin shortly. She focused another Float spell onto the staff's orb and attempted to discern solid ground from air. She was unsuccessful, and decided to try her footing with one foot.

She slipped one foot off the staff and allowed it to venture below her, searching for solid ground. She bent slightly, reaching with her toes. They brushed something flat, and she felt her heart leap. She carefully stepped off the staff and onto solid ground, dispelling the Float spell in her staff.

A voice said something, but she couldn't discern the words. She looked around slowly, trying to find the source of the words. Utter black met her eyes, yet she continued looking around.

The voice spoke again, this time a little clearer. She still couldn't make out the words, and spoke words of her own. "Is that...?"

"You are..." she heard right next to her left ear. She turned her head to face to the left, and saw...

Nothing. She reached out and felt nothing.

"I see..." she heard next to her right ear this time. "So you are..."

She reached for the right ear quickly and again, felt nothing. _Omniprescence?_ she wondered to herself. "Are you the great?" she asked slowly and clearly.

The black world before her slowly started vanishing, a mysterious, red structure appearing before her. She examined it closely and saw she was standing on a small piece of it. The piece was a fair distance away, however, and she wondered what had happened. "This is where..." she said slowly, the realization suddenly hitting her.

A bright light suddenly filled the structure, blinding her for a moment. Her eyes slowly adjusted, and she saw eight people laying around it. Before her sat...

"You..." she hissed, eyes narrowed, fixed upon the figure of Cloud Strife. "What have you done to my brothers?"

He seemed to not hear her. They all rose slowly and the person she wanted to see most appeared before the bright light. She bowed her head to him.

"Sephiroth..." she said quietly. "Is this... what happened four years ago...? Are these the people that stopped you...?"

The scene vanished, but the structure remained in her sight. The voice spoke into her left ear again. "That was the past, my dear," she heard the voice say softly. She felt hands rest on her shoulders, and she started to relax. She rose her right hand and placed it upon her left shoulder, not exactly caring that her hand made no actual physical contact with the hand touching her shoulder.

"We have the future," she murmured. "I will do whatever you require of me."

The hands slid closer together, arms gently wrapping around her and pulling her back into a chest. She knew full well she couldn't touch it for one reason or another, but tried to anyway. "Your brothers were foolish," she heard the voice say. "They didn't listen to you. You told them that wasn't the time. You were right."

"But... they found Mother," she said quietly. "Kadaj... he became one with her, and his body..." She recalled the scene she could only barely see two years ago. She recalled seeing Sephiroth vanish, Kadaj falling to the metal surface that was the old roof of Shinra. She saw him try to attack Cloud, and she watched in disbelief as Kadaj vanished into nothingness. Yazoo and Loz followed shortly thereafter, taking Cloud with them. And yet, he lived somehow...

She could've almost sworn she felt lips brush against her ear. "You don't need Mother for what I require," the voice whispered. "I intend to take this planet with you at my side. It won't do if you become one with Mother."

She closed her eyes slowly. "What must I do?"

A chuckle sounded softly from next to her. "Nothing," came the reply. "You mustn't do anything. Everything will work itself out in time, my dear, all in time. When the situation is right..." She felt an arm slip from around her and to her staff, pulling the orb back slightly. "Only when the situation is right will we begin reclaiming this planet."

She hadn't been expecting to hear this, and made a barely audible noise of protest. "But--"

She suddenly felt nothing and a blinding flash erupted from the orb of her staff. She looked away quickly to avoid actual blinding, and looked back when the light died. She gasped at what she was seeing now.

The orb had gone jet black. Her hand brushed it slowly in amazement, and heard the voice again, this time inside her mind.

"Have patience," it said. "Believe in me, and everything will be fine."

She gave a small nod of understanding, clutching the staff closer to her body, resting her forehead against the orb. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I thank you, Lizu," was the response. "Let us go now."

She slowly flipped the staff over in her hand, once again resting her feet in the crescent. She began channeling a spell into it, but the staff glowed of its own accord. The world around her was pitched into darkness once more, and she watched as she found herself drifting outside the crystal once more.

"Take a piece of the crystal about the size of your fist with you," she heard the voice urge in her mind. "It will serve us well once the situation is proper."

She gave a nod, bending at the knees. She leapt off her staff's crescent and spun around once, bringing the outer edge of the crescent crashing down on the crystal. The impact shattered it, pieces falling to the ground below. She fell as well, positioning her foot upon the staff carefully. It slowed the fall and she stepped off it onto the ground, eyes examining the pieces of crystal scattered on the ground. She clenched a fist and her eyes darted to the nearest piece. "Perfect," she murmured to herself, reaching down to pick it up. She looked at the remaining pieces and decided there'd be no harm leaving them as they were.

The staff glowed once more, and she positioned her foot upon the crescent once more, using it to leave the small area. The wind outside whipped her face gently, and she smiled, an almost cruel smile. She tilted the staff forward and began her journey out of the crater.

She knew what the crystal she now carried was capable of, and knew exactly what to do with it. But only when the time was right. Only then.

* * *

_Aw, no Vincent and Tifa? Heh, not yet. Had to put forth a small sense of foreboding first. The two main characters are in the next chapter, I assure you._

_Lizu is an OC, one I made up on the spot. Usually, I do a character bio for an OC, but I figured 'what's the point this time?' and just put her in here. I apologize ahead of time if she doesn't quite turn out the way you would like her to, but I think she'll turn out beyond what you expect. And whose voice is that she's hearing...? Well, I'm sure you've all figured it out by now. It's really not that hard, I think, but if you don't figure it out, don't worry about it._

_Lizu's weapon is a staff, one I've come to call the Spiked Crescent. I'd put up a picture of it if it weren't so... out of the way to do, so I'll just describe it here. The staff itself is fairly long, the bottom of it ending at an extreme point. The other end, the tip, is where it's design is slightly complicated. About eight inches from the tip of the base, a crescent spans out one side, curving approximately 245 degrees and ending in a point. The inside of the crescent is smooth but slip-resistant, allowing the wielder to set a foot inside it and, with the proper magic, float above the ground and possibly fly; it all comes down to the wielder's magical strength. The outside of the crescent is adorned with six triangular blades, each one spaced apart approximately six to eight inches. These blades are razor sharp and, owing largely to their placement, can be used to slice through anything but diamond, which would require two or three more slashes from the staff to actually slice through it. And the excess tip of the staff's base? Adorned with an orb which is roughly six to eight inches in diameter. This orb acts as an amplifier for magic spells, which usually results in the wielder channeling the spell into the orb and releasing the spell shortly thereafter at the corresponding target. The entire staff is made of pure silver with a powerful enchantment upon it that makes it difficult to destroy, even with repeated blows from a weapon coated in diamond. The staff's weakness? The orb; shattering this will dispel the reinforcing enchantment and make it much easier to destroy._

_I hope that paints a picture out well enough for you; if you're still unsure of what it looks like in your mind and have a SecondLife account, PM Vilius Aichi (that be me) and I'll send you a picture of it._

_A little bit of random trivia for you. The Spiked Crescent is actually the weapon of one of my other OCs (!!). Kinda makes one wonder what Lizu did to the poor guy if she has his staff..._

_I'll put up the next chapter tomorrow, unless something happens between now and then. Like I suddenly have somewhere else to go or something else to do._

_Let me know what you think so far! -Spiritslayer_


	2. Glimpse Of The Future

_So... how's everyone been since yesterday? I got a really slow start today; took me a half hour to eat breakfast this morning. Then again, I'm not exactly much of a morning person, per se; my days don't tend to start until 10 in the morning. I was up at 8 this morning. Oh yes, it sucked this morning._

_Didn't my storywriting ability, though! Then again, I haven't written anything yet today, so..._

_Well, here's this chapter. Enjoy! -Spiritslayer_

* * *

"Vincent Valentine," sounded a familiar voice through Vincent's cell phone.

"Shelke," he said, a tone of surprise evident in his voice. "Is there a reason you're calling me?"

"Is there something wrong with me calling you just to talk?" she responded.

He gave a small sigh, the voice reminding them of their first meeting. "No, not particularly," he replied.

He had first met Shelke in Shinra Manor, in the form of a mysterious assailant. She had paralyzed him temporarily, allowing herself the time to escape. He had never forgotten her voice, however, and when he learned that she was a Tsviet of Deepground, he was a little too eager to strike back against her, even if it was just to sedate her.

"Why would you think I need a reason to talk to you, Vincent?" she asked.

"It's usually the case," he said. "I think this is the first time you've called me just for the sake of talking."

"This is true," she mused to herself. "Although, a new life usually requires new habits, new ways of living my life."

"New life..." he murmured.

"Speaking of which, how is Tifa doing?" Shelke asked.

"She's fine." This wasn't a lie, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to expand upon it with a former-enemy-turned-friend. "She told me to say 'hi' to you for her next time I talked to you."

"I do not wish to make you the middle man, so I will just talk to her on my own time," was the reply. "All the same, you can certainly tell her I said hello back."

He chuckled, turning his head to face the sleeping Tifa. "I'll make a note," he said. "So how've things been going over at the WRO?"

"I honestly do not see how you could deal with Yuffie all day and all night, Vincent." She gave a sigh as he heard the aforementioned ninja shouting her obvious protest to Shelke's comment. "I almost forgot she was right next to me," she muttered.

Vincent was listening to some very colorful Wutainese from the other end of the line, and he recognized a few of the words. He chuckled and said "Tell Yuffie that no matter how much she believes it, you're not a 'cybernetic bitch after a taken vampire's heart'."

"One moment." He heard her recite the words to Yuffie, and heard hushed silence from the other end. "I think she is stunned silent," Shelke said into the phone.

A sudden outburst reached Vincent's ears, this one in Common. "Put Yuffie on," he sighed. "I'll shut her up."

He heard the phone switch hands, followed by a short "What? Can't you hear I'm--"

Vincent then proceeded to recite, word for word, what Wutainese he had heard her use. "You're very vivid about it, aren't you?" he mused.

"W-w-what?" Her voice was faint. "Y-y-you understand Wutainese?"

"Bits and pieces of it," he responded. "Calling your usual partner those names is not a good thing, Yuffie. It more often than not undermines the partnership."

"It wouldn't have mattered much! It's not like she speaks Wutainese!" the ninja protested.

Vincent recalled this and gave a small shrug, one he knew she couldn't see. "She might not, but all she has to do is look them up and--"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it..." she grumbled. "Or all she has to do is talk to you..."

"Precisely," he said. "Now put her back on and leave her alone."

"No way. How've you been, Vinny?" she asked energetically. "How's Tifa? And for that matter..." She lowered her voice dramatically, possibly so Shelke couldn't hear her. "When you taking your relationship with her to the next level?"

"Well, that's interesting," he said simply. "The head of the Intelligence Division of the WRO hasn't heard the news?" He glanced at the ring on his own finger, then his eyes shifted to the ring on the bedstand next to Tifa's side of the bed. "We're engaged."

He heard the phone fall to the floor and rolled his eyes inwardly. "So immature," he muttered. He heard a hand clasp around it, then he heard a small shout as another voice sounded. "Vincent?"

"Shelke. I don't know what could've caused her to drop the phone," he said casually with a grin.

"She's saying something or the other about 'those two are engaged?! By Leviathan, I can't believe I didn't know! How could the Great Ninja Yuffie not know about'..." Shelke chuckled. "Well, I think you get the idea."

"Mm," he sighed. "Only too well, I may add."

"So..." Shelke's tone grew more serious. "You and Tifa are engaged?"

"Yes, we are. We've got the wedding date set already. You're both invited, of course. As is Reeve."

"How long have you two been...?" she asked quietly.

His mind wandered to three and a half years ago, when he had heard Cloud ask the very same question on the airship. He was snapped back to reality by Shelke saying his name, concern showing more and more each time she said it. "...ent? Vincent?"

"Sorry," he sighed. "Memory of the past. It's nothing." He cleared his throat. "We've been engaged for about a month now. Which is why I'm so surprised she didn't know."

He heard silence on the other end, and it was his turn to express concern. "Shelke? Are you okay?"

"I am fine, Vincent. Just... a little stunned at the news." She sighed slowly. "Congratulations to both of you. I'll be there if time allows it. When is it?"

"March 21st, in Nibelheim. First day of spring, first day of new life."

"In more ways than one," she added quietly. "That's in just two months."

"Do you think you can make it?" he asked.

"I might be able to," she said softly. "We'll see as the time draws closer."

He could've almost sworn he heard her sniff. "Shelke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Vincent. Nothing is wrong with me. I just have a cold."

He recognized this as a lame excuse. "Those with Mako injections or Mako infusions don't get sick, Shelke. What's wrong with you right now?"

"I..." He heard her sigh almost silently. "I don't know. I was fine until..."

He slowly understood. "Shelke, you must realize I've loved Tifa for a long time. The first time you and I met, you attacked me, remember? That's still..."

"On your mind?" she asked.

"To some extent. It's in the past, after all. I let my guard down."

Silence settled between them. "Yuffie wishes to talk to you again," Shelke said finally. "Should I put her on?"

"Up to you," he replied.

"I will, then. See you later, Vincent." He could hear the phone switch hands again and he heard Yuffie sputtering, stumbling over her words.

"W-w-w-wait! Why'd she put me back on?" Yuffie finally managed.

Vincent realized what had happened, but shrugged it off. "Probably wants time alone," he offered. "Yuffie."

"What?"

"Has Tifa not mentioned it to you? Our wedding, I mean?"

"Does it seem like she has?!" she snapped. "I dropped the damn phone when you told me!"

He couldn't help but smile at this comment. "I suppose so," he said. "Well, now you know. I'll tell her that, and we'll make further plans from there. Do you think you can make it?"

"Are... are you seriously inviting me to your wedding?!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"You, Shelke, Reeve, and everyone else that wishes to come." He had to put up with her excited squeals and wondered if it was really in their best interests to have her there after all.

"Of course I can be there! I'll bring Shelke along for sure, too!"

"Yuffie, don't force her. I have a feeling she's feeling heartbroken right now, but it's just a hunch."

"Heartbroken?" He heard her gasp slightly. "Oh, right. She has a massive crush on you."

He gave a small frown. "I was afraid of that," he said quietly.

"Hey, I'm gonna let you go, Vinny. Want to talk to Reeve about it, let him know, if he doesn't already know. Besides, this is Shelke's phone, not mine."

"Alright. See you at the wedding, if not sooner."

"Later," she said, hanging up.

He hung up his own phone and put it on the bedstand next to his side of the bed. He examined the sleeping form of his fiancee and gave a small smile. He lay down on the bed next to her and closed his eyes. _It's been a long time since we first fell in love._

_**Indeed it has, Vincent.**_ The Galian, although more agreeable and helpful, still talked to him on occasion just for the sake of old arguments. _**And I must say it took you long enough to ask the woman.**_

_I know, I know. But I've never exactly given the thought of marriage much thought since Lucrecia. It pained me for a long time to continue saying 'I love you' to Tifa and not ask her to marry me._

_**So what was the driving force again?**_

_You._ He lay on his side, eyes traversing Tifa's face. _Or maybe you choose to set that fact aside just so you hear me admit it._

_**Oh damn, you've figured me out,**_ the demon cackled.

_We've shared the same body for about thirty-three and a half years now, Galian. I'm sure I know you pretty well by now._ He ignored the demon's thoughts and drifted off to sleep.

--

Shelke was stumbling slightly as she walked toward Reeve's office. She was still thinking about what Vincent had told her when Reeve called both her and Yuffie in for a mission.

"Whoa, watch out, now!" Yuffie said, grinning at her partner/friend. "Keep that up, you'll bruise yourself up too much!"

"Does his news of engagement not make you sad?" she asked the ninja.

"Well..." Yuffie sighed. "Kinda. I used to have a small crush on him myself, but it didn't last very long. I mean, I'm really happy for them, but when I think of it that way..." She rests a hand on Shelke's shoulder. "Aw, come on! Don't let this get you down, girl! There's more guys out there we can find!"

"But--"

"No buts, Shelke!" Yuffie gave her friend a reassuring, one-armed hug. "So Vinny's moving on in life! We, as people who like him, should be happy for him, not moping over his decision!"

Shelke opened her mouth to speak, but saw the look in Yuffie's eyes and gave a smile only Yuffie could procure. "You're right, Yuffie. I'm sorry." She tried straightening out her walk, and the two progressed much smoother to Reeve's office.

Shelke procured her WRO identification card and held it up to the scanner. It gave a pleasant 'ping' and unlocked the door. Yuffie opened it and the two stepped in.

Reeve Tuesti was sitting behind his desk, filling out paperwork. He heard the door open and he looked up to see both of them. He gave a smile and nodded. "Have a seat," he said casually, motioning a hand to the two chairs in front of his desk.

The two sat down, eyes on him, waiting for him to speak.

He continued with the paperwork a moment longer, then set his pen down and looked up at them, nodding. "Sorry about that. As you both know, the Turks of Shinra are still very much so in existence, and they send in all sorts of paperwork for me to fill out for them, in place of the president." He gave his temples a small rub, and sighed. "But enough of that. I have a mission for both of you." He reached into his desk and pulled out a small disk, handing it to Shelke. "Tells you all the specifics of it."

"So what's our mission?" Yuffie asked, leaning back and propping her feet on the edge of his desk. He gave her a look and she grinned sheepishly, pulling her feet off the desk.

"Surveillance," he said simply. "In Midgar."

"Is there activity there lately?" Shelke asked.

"Reports of it, nothing confirmed. That's why I want you two to check it out." He indicates the disk. "That can tell you what the reports of activity say better than me." He leaned back. "Any questions, comments?"

Yuffie grinned. "One comment. Vincent and Tifa are..." She paused for dramatic effect.

"Engaged?" Reeve asked.

Her eyes widened. "You _knew_?!"

He grinned, shaking his head. "I guessed. Well, that's a pleasant surprise!"

Shelke spoke up. "We are all invited. Their wedding is on the 21st of March. Two months."

Reeve nodded in understanding. "We can make it there." He looked between the two of them. "Anything pertaining to the mission?"

"Length?" Shelke asked.

"One week. A week to see when the ruins of Midgar are in use, if at all. Report in at the end of each day via com units."

The two nodded. "Understood," they said simultaneously.

"Very well. Well, if nothing else requires my attention, it's best to hurry. Wait too long to start this mission, we won't make it to the wedding, now will we?"

--

Green eyes watched a pair of young ladies walk away from the WRO building, toward the ruins of Midgar. A grin spread over the figure's face, hands clutching a staff. "And so..." she spoke softly, eyes fixed on the energetic figure of Yuffie Kisaragi. "Should I begin?"

"Not yet the time," the voice replied. "You'll know when the proper time is."

She made a small face. "I'm tired of waiting for the right time," she muttered.

"Lizu, have patience and faith. It'll make this much easier for you. Until then, have faith in me," it said softly.

She hesitated, then turned from the sight of the two women. "Alright," she finally conceded, leaping from her perch. "I'll wait."

* * *

_I'm hoping you like this so far. The next chapter's pretty good, but I can't think of how to write the next one... This is not boding well..._

_Well, I don't have much else to say right now. I'll leave you guys be. Drop a line and let me know how I'm doing with this one, please and thank you! -Spiritslayer_


	3. Glimmer of Hope

_I'm back! Though, I was only gone for a day... As I usually am... Hrm..._

_This chapter is more or less supposed to be a break from the somewhat serious tone it may have taken up already. It's, in my opinion, a lot more lighthearted than the other two are, and I think that's going to be a good thing._

_Well, I'll let you read. -Spiritslayer_

* * *

"Nothing!" Yuffie steamed, storming into Reeve's office, Shelke wearing an apologetic expression on her face as she stepped in.

Reeve blinked, looking up at her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me! Nothing happened there!" she fumed, plopping down in a chair. "Reports, my ass! More like a lotta pranks!"

Shelke couldn't help but nod her agreement. "This is true, Reeve. There was no activity there over a week."

He gave a nod. "I see. Sorry about it, but I thought it'd be worth investigating, what with Deepground and all."

Shelke shifted slightly.

"Oh, there was no Deepground, period!" Yuffie snapped. "Shelke went to check herself, in Midgar Underground! Nothing there, even!"

Reeve turned a sharp eye to Shelke. "Is what she said...?"

Shelke would've glared at Yuffie if she knew it'd help her situation any, but kept it to herself. "It is. I thought it was certainly possible there was a hidden faction of Deepground somewhere below Midgar, and thought maybe they were responsible for the reports. But I checked everywhere, and turned up nothing." She sighed, sitting down in the chair next to Yuffie. "I apologize for straying from my orders, but I had to check..."

He gave an understanding nod. "As long as you're fine, Shelke." He sighed, smiling softly. "Yuffie, Tifa wanted to talk to you. She called the day after you left, and I told her you were away on a mission."

Her furious expression melted away instantly. "Really?!" she exclaimed.

Reeve nodded, handing her a small note. "Said call her here; she and Vincent are out of town for a week of their own. They should be back tomorrow."

Yuffie suddenly beamed, standing quickly. "Alright! I'm off, then!" She opened the door and rushed out of the office.

Shelke watched her, then turned her attention back to Reeve. "Sir, there--"

"Reeve," he said. "Formalities aren't necessary right now. It's just the two of us."

"Right," she said slowly. "There weren't signs of Deepground soldiers, but there were signs that someone had been down there since the Deepground incident. In parts of Midgar Underground that no one touched a year ago, at that."

"So there was activity down there at some point?"

Shelke nodded her head. "It's possible. It was nothing major, just exploration into unexplored areas of the Underground."

"As far as you can tell," he added.

"As far as I can tell," she practically echoed, standing slowly. "Shall I investigate it?"

"Not yet," he replied. "You just got back, Shelke. Take time off, head to the wedding. I'll send in squads to watch Midgar, and if there's no activity at all, we'll consider it null and void."

"So Yuffie and I were just the initial probe, then?" she asked, slightly affronted.

He closed his eyes. "It's... not that," he began slowly.

"We are just better at fighting than the squads," she said rather shortly. "Faced with swarms of enemies, the two of us can handle them better than a whole squad."

"Shelke, I didn't say that," he said, gently rubbing his temples. "I just--"

"I understand," she said coldly. "Do not worry about it, sir." She turned to the door and walked out, leaving it wide open.

He groaned, resting his head in his hands. "You two are better at remaining hidden than a squad is," he muttered to himself. "I know there's next to no chance of you two being found and killed than with a squad."

--

"Hey Teef!" Yuffie exclaimed into the phone.

Tifa pulled the phone from her ear. "Yuffie? That you?" she asked, raising a hand slowly to stop Vincent.

"Yeah! Reeve said you wanted to talk to me? About what?"

She smiled, walking forward again, linking hands with Vincent. "Vincent told me you learned of the wedding."

"Yeah, and so did Shelke. We're both planning on coming, and so is Reeve."

Tifa chuckled. "Well, actually..."

"Wait a sec! You two broke up?!" she shouted into the phone.

Vincent heard her and shook his head. "She's still immature as always," he sighed.

Tifa laughed. "No, Yuffie, we didn't break up," she said.

"Oh. Wait, then you two must not want us to come!"

Vincent reached his hand out and Tifa understood. She put the phone in his hand and he brought it to his ear. "Yuffie, we didn't break up, and you're all still welcome," he said swiftly. "Now be quiet so Tifa can ask you what she wants to ask you." He handed to phone back, smirking. "That worked," he said quietly.

Tifa grinned, taking it back. "So, Yuffie, I was wondering if you'd like to be my Maid of Honor."

She heard the phone clatter to the floor, and she looked at Vincent. "Does she drop the phone often?"

"Seems to be a trend of hers," he muttered. "Are you sure you want _her_ to be your Maid of Honor?"

"Of course I am!" She listened for Yuffie to pick up the phone again, and frowned. "Hey, Yuffie!" she said loudly into the receiver. "You still there?"

The phone was picked up quickly and dropped again, then recovered again. "W-wait! You're asking _me_ to be your Maid of Honor?!" the ninja exclaimed.

"Well, yeah," Tifa grinned. "I think that's what I just asked you, anyway..."

"Well, wait a sec! Why me?"

Tifa stopped. "You don't _want _to be my Maid of Honor?"

"No no! I do, it's just..." The ninja sighed. "Why me? We all know I'm a klutz!"

Vincent nodded his approval, not saying anything. "Yuffie," he said loud enough for her to hear. "I told her that too, but she wouldn't hear it."

Yuffie seemed to be thinking, then... "Who's the Best Man gonna be?"

Tifa passed the phone to Vincent, who smirked. "Cid Highwind."

"Oh, _hell_ no!" the ninja exclaimed furiously. "The old geezer's your Best Man?! What in hell is wrong with you, Vinny?! It coulda been Reeve, it coulda been Cloud! But _nooooooo_, you have to pick the damned chain smoker old man! Well, screw that! I am _not_ standing next to that drunken, cancerous..." She continued in Wutainese, and Vincent looked at Tifa, who was absolutely laughing out loud, hand clutching her side.

Vincent stopped her at one point. "Yuffie, two things. First, Cid is not," and he repeated all the words she had used in Wutainese. "Second, Cid's not my Best Man."

"But you just said he was!" she exclaimed.

Vincent rolled his eyes. "Have you really forgotten what a joke is?" he sighed.

"A... joke...? Wait, a joke coming from Vincent Valentine?! Oh my god, the world's just exploded! There is _no_ way in _hell_ you can crack a joke! Ever!"

Vincent shook his head, clearing his throat. "Any chance you'll let me tell you who the Best Man is?" he said over her.

"Huh? Oh, right," the ninja said nervously. "Sorry, Vinny."

"Best Man's Cloud." He handed the phone back to Tifa.

"So, will you be my Maid of Honor, Yuffie? Or should I start looking for someone else?" she said teasingly.

"Yeah, I'll be your Maid of Honor!" the ninja exclaimed. "Oh, but..."

Tifa gave a small frown, one she knew Yuffie couldn't see all the same. "Do you not have a dress to wear?"

"I think I do..." She heard the ninja rummaging through clothes in her closet, no doubt at WRO headquarters. "Well, I'm wrong. For once," she added almost under her breath.

"You've been wrong before, Yuffie," Tifa said, smiling. "Don't worry about it; if you need help finding one, let me know."

"Nah, I'm not gonna make the bride do it," Yuffie replied. Tifa could almost sense the ninja beaming. "I'll figure something out."

Vincent shook his head. "Better help her out just in case," he muttered to Tifa.

She mouthed "I know" and said into the phone, "Alright, then. I'll see you soon, then."

"Sure! Later, Teef!" She hung up the phone. Tifa followed suit, and put hers away. "Well, this is either going to be the best wedding ever, or a complete catastrophe," she sighed, clutching Vincent's hand slightly tighter.

He smiled at her, gripping her hand as well. "Either way, we're getting married, Tifa."

"I know, I know." She rested her head gently on his shoulder. "The only thing that could go wrong with this wedding is Yuffie being the Maid of Honor."

"And we know how much she loves you. She often tells me you're a sister to her."

"I feel like a sister to her," Tifa said. "And I love her dearly, even if she stole our materia four years ago."

He cracked a half-grin. "I don't think any of us hold that against her anymore. Well, other than Cid."

"Cid likes her, but thinks she has to do a massive overhaul on her maturity." She looks up at him. "What do you think?"

"She's mature already, she's just hyperactive. I can't see why Cid doesn't see that."

She let a small laugh escape her, and she closed her eyes. "Seven weeks, Vince. Just seven more weeks..."

He didn't say anything in response, but was smiling contently. And she knew this somehow.

--

"If I may..." Lizu began to say to her staff. "If I may be so bold..."

"Ask it, my dear."

She hesitated, and then asked her question. "What will the right time be?" she asked, eyes on a couple walking together. The woman had long black-brown hair and had her left hand linked with the man's right. She supposed this was due to the man's condition.

His left arm was, as far as she could tell, a mechanical claw with razor-sharp points at the digits. His raven-black hair ran a third of the way down his back. The absence of his red cloak would have thrown her off, but she knew who they were.

Tifa Lockheart and Vincent Valentine. Two of those who fought against Sephiroth. Two of those who averted what should have been Sephiroth's greatest moment of glory.

How Lizu wanted to murder them right now.

"Lizu, have patience--"

"No," she cut in. "I can't. I can't wait for 'the right moment' much longer. Not when I know what they've done..."

Silence met her ears.

"...I'm sorry. I was out of line," she said quickly.

"...Lizu."

She waited, her breath abated.

"I suppose there's something you can do after all," she heard that voice say.

"Name it," she whispered breathlessly. "Name it, and I shall do it."

She imagined the body of the voice was smirking right now, and allowed a smirk of her own to take over her facial features.

"Drive the demon and the guide apart," it said simply. "The rest shall unravel itself in time, and then we can begin."

"I... don't understand," she finally said.

"You'll understand in time," it replied. "Now, let us be on our way."

She gave a simple nod, standing from her perch. She looked around a moment.

Junon had changed so much since she last saw it, but she supposed it was for the best. She could easily find a place to watch people from afar on the high-rise rooftops.

If she didn't know any better, she thought she might miss it.

She twirled the staff in her hand and leapt down from the roof, praying Sephiroth himself would keep her from sustaining any serious injuries. A vast, mysterious magical power poured into the staff, causing it to glow softly. It slowed her descent, and she set her feet gently on the pavement, eyes on the couple once more.

"The demon and the guide..." she murmured, eyes narrowing slightly, her head turning to watch the two as they walked. She watched them. She watched and despised them, them who could live so happily after slaying the one she loved most.

They had taken her happiness, and she wanted to take theirs.

"Drive the demon and the guide apart..." she whispered to herself, repeating the cryptic clue over and over to herself as she walked down the street, away from the happy couple.

Away from her desire to take their happiness away.

* * *

_I figured Vincent doesn't seem to crack enough jokes, so I thought I'd put one in here. Sure, he's a new man, but his old personality has more or less stuck with the old crew. They still don't expect a lot of things out of him that would detract from his standard personality. ...At least, that's how I'm writing this._

_I have Chapter 4 written, but have NOT written Chapter 5 yet. I have an idea, however, and will start working on it. I want to thank **Kukuxmusuu** for providing the inspiration of Chapter 5, and I will give the grand amount of credit for it to **Kukuxmusuu** as such. Again, thanks for the idea, and I'll work that in to the best of my ability._

_A little bit of random info pertaining to the reality that is my hectic life. Wait, did I just call it hectic...? In any case, I've done away with Internet Explorer and replaced it with Mozilla Firefox! I love Firefox to death already, it's much easier for me to use and to deal with. The whole reason I switched was because Internet Explorer would suddenly close out for little or no apparent reason in the last week. It eventually wore my patience thin, and I've done all I can to not only replace it, but remove it entirely from my computer. Farewell, Internet Explorer. This is now the era of Firefox._

_The next chapter reveals a little of Lizu's past, reveals some of her own thoughts... And it also reveals just who it is inhabiting her staff's orb. But that's something you'll have to wait to read; unless I feel really generous within the next two or three hours, you won't be reading it until tomorrow. I'm cruel like that, I know. It's something you'll have to get used to, though._

_Until tomorrow! Or maybe in a few hours! -Spiritslayer_


	4. Crystalline Reflection

_Ah, I'm feeling extremely generous today. Two chapters in one day!_

_Although, the trade off is that I don't have the next chapter written yet, so... If I don't update tomorrow, don't sweat it; I'm working on it._

_For those of you waiting for Chapter 3 of Hiding Secrets, I'm so, so, so, so sorry! I'm trying to work out the next chapter, but I'm not done with it yet!_

_Special occasion, two chapters in one day! Enjoy! -Spiritslayer_

* * *

Lizu grew impatient trying to decipher the clue. "The demon and the guide..." she murmured to herself. "The demon... The guide..." She was silently cursing the voice that inhabited her staff, but knew it was better to try and figure out this clue than wait around with nothing to do. "You couldn't have been more specific...?" she sighed.

She wasn't sure where she was headed, but her feet were guiding her along regardless. All she knew was she was leaving Junon.

She glanced at the jet black orb of her staff, a small frown setting upon her face. "The demon and the guide..." she murmured once more. Her eyes were fixed upon the orb, as though glaring at it would get her an answer. She eventually realized that no, it wouldn't, and focused her attention on where she was going next.

As she walked, she bumped into someone who turned to yell at her, but stopped at her appearance. She stopped in place and turned slowly to face the unfortunate fellow, eyes narrowing. The man took a step backward and began running full tilt in the other direction; he didn't want to find out if her temperament was like Sephiroth's too.

"It's amazing how much I resemble you, Sephiroth," she muttered, chuckling softly. "You still frighten people with a name." She turned to resume walking and turned the cryptic clue over in her mind, repeating it until it seemed almost like a mantra to her. She sighed and decided to focus on something else.

She procured the chunk of crystal she had brought with her from the crater and examined it, slowly rotating it in her hand. "With this..." she said quietly, voice and thought trailing off. She noted the prismatic glimmer it gave off in the golden sunlight. "Golden...?" she wondered to herself, looking up.

The sun was setting, giving her a sudden realization of the time. She gave a half smile, wondering when things would sort themselves out. She didn't necessarily need to figure out the clue, but she preferred rushing things along; she wasn't the type to just sit back and wait for things to take turns for the worse. She clenched the crystal tightly in her hand, the hard surface of it starting to dig into her palm. She closed her eyes and gave a sigh. "Why do I have to be so useless...?" she asked quietly.

"You're not useless, Lizu," the voice said to her.

She chuckled, glancing at the orb. "Of course I am. I can't figure out the clue you set upon me, and that means we'll have to wait for the situation to unravel itself without my aid." She put the crystal away and gave a forlorn look over the ocean. "You... should've found someone else to help you..."

"Lizu, you were the only one left. And besides, I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather be with at all times," the voice reassured her. "Our bond goes beyond anything the others would've thought possible."

She shook her head, her silver hair almost glowing gold in the sunlight. "I'm just going to bring you down, to hinder your plans," she sighed, hanging her head. "I shouldn't... have thought I could do it alone. I can't. There's no way you'll get what you want with me."

"I have everything I could possibly want with you, my dear," the voice said softly. "I'd rather be with no one else."

"Even... if you're just saying that..." she whispered. "Thank you..."

The staff glowed softly and moved of its own accord. Her grasp on it slackened slightly at the supernatural occurrence, but retightened her grip and allowed the staff to pull her along, the jet black orb leading the way.

It pulled her into a small, hidden alleyway, one close to the docks, before it stopped glowing. Gravity pulled the staff back down, but Lizu held it erect again, stabbing the bottom point into the ground. She then sat down next to it, back against the wall. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them, resting her face on her knees. "Why me?" she finally asked.

"I've already said--" the voice began; she cut it off.

"No, I mean... from the very beginning, when you and I first met... why choose me? There were plenty of others you could've committed to, and yet..." She lifted her head so her eyes could rest upon the staff's long, slender base. "What drew you to me, made me so much better than the rest?"

The voice of the staff didn't respond, possibly thinking of how they first met. Just as she was.

_She was staggering toward the crater's center alongside the other hooded men, the other figures shrouded in black. She wasn't following the customary appearance, to be sure. But she didn't care. Her silver hair whipped around her in the fierce winds, her green eyes narrowed so her eyes weren't afflicted by the chilly winds. Her white cloak was wrapped tightly around her in an attempt to keep her physical body warm in the biting cold._

_In the procession of darkness, she was the only light._

_Then, she saw him. His own silver hair, slightly longer than hers, was similarly whipping around him, his long sword clutched firmly in his left hand. She thought she heard him talking to someone, and moved forward to try and hear better. She slowly, reluctantly, reached out a hand to him._

_He seemed to notice this movement and was suddenly upon her, sword no more than an inch from ending her life. He looked into her eyes, a smirk twisting his features._

_And she stared back at him, defiant. As though she wasn't afraid of dying by his blade, as though he couldn't bring himself to do it to her._

_And she was right._

_He lowered his sword slowly, smirk fading from his face. "You're not afraid of dying," he said, more a statement than a question._

_"I know I'm not meant to die here and now. Nor are you." She locked her eyes with his, noting the catlike appearance they bore. Much unlike hers._

_They stood there for a while, looking into one another's eyes. Both were searching the depths of the other's soul, plumbing their very being for the bare truths._

_He broke the gaze and smiled. No smirk, no half-smile. No taunting look upon his face. She could tell he was really smiling at her, and she had a feeling she knew why._

_She was also smiling at this point. She felt as though she had pierced through his exterior without effort and reached who he really was on the inside. She slowly reached a hand up toward his face and brushed her bare fingers against his cheek. Warmth met her fingers and seemed to fill her whole body, seemingly granting her immunity from the bitter chill around her._

_He reached a hand up to touch hers and looked at her hand as he did so. He was almost fascinated by it, his fingers playing at the back of her hand almost curiously. She slowly turned her hand over and gently clasped his._

_His eyes went back to hers, and in that instant, they knew something about themselves. Neither of them wanted to say it out loud, however, and he gave her hand a small squeeze before letting go and turning slowly. "I'll see you in the future," he said quietly to her, his voice almost drowned out by the roaring winds._

_Yet she heard him almost perfectly. She gave a nod, lowering her hand and watching as he went swiftly. He rose his sword and slashed through two black-clad figures, knocking them down instantly with just the one slash. She looked at her hand, closing it into a fist slowly._

_In the procession of darkness, she was the only light. She was the light that would guide his heart in time._

She slowly opened her eyes. She wondered if she had fallen asleep, but decided she hadn't; the sun was still setting, her white cloak and silver hair glowing in the light. Her appearance would have struck a passerby as angelic, no doubt. "Did I... fall asleep?" she murmured, glancing to the staff.

"No. You've been awake this whole time."

"I was just thinking of that day in the crater. How you lowered your sword when I stood up to you. How we seemed to connect in just a matter of moments, without words. I remember it as though it were yesterday." She rested the back of her head against the wall behind her, eyes closing again.

"I, too, recalled that day just now. My initial thought was that you weren't afraid of death. But looking back now, I can see you weren't afraid of me. You seemed to be asking me questions with your eyes, and I sought answers in yours."

She smiled slowly. "I remember you smiled at me. No intention of intimidation, just an honest, heartfelt smile. And I was honored by it, almost felt blessed." Her smile faded slowly. "As you left, I thought 'I am the light that will guide your heart' and waited to hear from you once more. I never once believed you dead." She rested her face in her knees again. "But to think I'm just wasting your time..."

"You're not wasting my time, Lizu. I've never once thought so, and never will think as such. You are the only one from back then that caught my attention. It wasn't just that white cloak where others wore black. It wasn't just your actions when confronted by me. It was... something else. And I've always hoped I would get the chance to be alongside you again."

"I had too, but I had always believed I would be more... active than this. I thought I'd be striking down our enemies for us, not waiting for the right moment. And then you give me a clue, something to work with. Even with this clue, I'm useless. It's almost as though you had never given it to me." She paused a moment, then... "I wish you had slain me four years ago, as you had the others."

Her eyes were suddenly shrouded in darkness, the staff aglow. She glanced at it and felt her eyes widen. It wasn't her staff that was glowing.

A man with silver hair, green catlike eyes and a long sword in his left hand was looking down at her seated form, a smile upon his face. Even with the time that had passed, he still wore the SOLDIER First Class armor he had worn years and years ago.

She watched, fascinated, as he knelt down next to her, placing his sword upon utter darkness and moving closer to her, hands resting upon her shoulders. She felt him pull her forward into him, embracing her.

"Even if you had looked at me with fearful eyes," the image spoke, "it's very likely I would've spared you all the same. There was something else about you that made me stop my blade, Lizu." He pulled back and locked eyes with hers. "Your eyes made me stop."

"My... eyes?" she whispered.

He nodded, a hand reaching up to brush stray strands of hair from her face. "When I first looked into them, I realized that your eyes were more beautiful than I had thought possible. I was captivated by them. I didn't want to bring myself to end the life behind those eyes. And after that, we connected by way of our eyes. You asked me questions, gave me answers. I did the same, and we suddenly knew one another as though we had lived together for years upon years." He smiled at her. "You, Lizu, guided my lost heart back to where it belonged. You set a path before me, gave me the option of taking it. You were, and still are, the light that guides my heart."

She couldn't speak. She wasn't sure what to say. Thought after thought rushed through her mind. He seemed to pick up on them through her eyes, though, and rested his forehead against hers. Finally... "I... am your guide..." she murmured.

"And I, a demon," he finished before gently placing his lips against hers.

She could feel it, but knew it was nothing more than illusion to her eyes, to her body's sense of touch. She closed her eyes, allowing him to just kiss her. She didn't want to ruin the moment by driving herself crazy, trying to touch the man she had fallen in love with.

To feel him holding her was enough for her.

The illusion of him vanished and the alley of Junon reappeared before her. She slowly opened her eyes to find moisture lining them. "The demon... and the guide..." she whispered.

"I would never suggest driving the two of us apart, Lizu," she heard that voice say. "However, there is another demon, another guide. It is _they_ who need to be driven apart for our plan to begin."

She pondered for a moment, wiping the moisture from her eyes. A sudden realization dawned on her. "The demon and the guide..." she whispered, looking outside the alleyway to the main street. "Of course..."

"She guided his lost heart along as well. But she's guided more than just the demon. She's guided all those around her, as well."

"And driving the two apart would crumble the foundation of their friendship," she murmured, standing slowly, hand resting upon the staff. "'Drive the demon and the guide apart, the rest shall unravel itself in time'." She pulled the staff from the ground and walked slowly out of the alleyway, eyes searching for someone.

"Lizu. I have never once thought of you as useless, you know. I would never think such a thing of the only woman I have ever loved."

To feel how he felt was one thing, but to actually hear it... She gave a small gasp, and smiled. "And I guided you along because I, too, had fallen in love. I had fallen for the man I was guiding. And now, he has guided my heart back to the path before me, the path he set." She began climbing the building behind her, intent on reaching the roof. "Thank you, Sephiroth," she whispered to her staff as she climbed. "I owe you everything."

"As I owe you everything," he replied. "You gave me happiness once more."

She smiled, reaching the roof. She felt much better knowing that her love for him wasn't one-sided, and was now determined more than ever to help him -- them -- achieve their goal.

To do that, she had to find the demon and the guide she sought to drive apart.

She had to find Vincent Valentine and Tifa Lockheart.

* * *

_And there it is!_

_Yes, Sephiroth lives. While he lacks a physical body of his own, he now lives in Lizu's staff. And yes, this fic's also intended to be SephxOC; I've toyed with the notion for a bit, but never really thought of a way to do it. But now... I figured it was fine to do in this story, seeing whereas the main enemy is Lizu, her companion Sephiroth. Don't sweat it, this new coupling won't stand above the primary one. Vincent/Tifa are still the primary couple of the story; I just couldn't think of any way to work them into this chapter._

_Again, I'll work on Chapter 5 using the suggestion hinted at in Chapter 3. I hope to have it up by tomorrow, but should have it up day after tomorrow if not tomorrow._

_I realize the coupling of Lizu/Sephiroth may seem awkward, but I'll cover the basis of it in later chapters. I promise!_

_Two in one day... Yeah, I really need to step up my writing now. -Spiritslayer_


	5. Family, Wine, Gems and Yuffie

_Grand... I wrote this last night after reading The Mist by Stephen King. Could've seen the movie too, but thought 'Nah; I'll take what sleep I **can** get and run with it._

_I only got four hours of sleep last night... Ugh, not good._

_More rant later. -Spiritslayer_

* * *

Vincent was reading a book while Tifa slept next to him. He turned a page and glanced at her, a small smile at his mouth. He looked back at the book and only found his eyes scanning the words; he wasn't really reading anymore. _It's still..._

_**Difficult to believe? How so?**_

He decided it was time to just talk to the only other conscious being in the room, even if that being happened to be a demon in his mind and body. _I..._

_**You two have loved one another for a long time now, Vincent. To be perfectly honest, I think it took you long enough to actually ask her.**_

Vincent gave a small dirty look to the book, though the demon knew the dirty look was directed at it. _It's not like I hadn't tried in the past, you know. If only it weren't for..._

_**Oh sure, blame everyone but yourself.**_

_Well, it is Yuffie's fault I had to stall proposing to Tifa! She ruined each moment prior to my asking!_ He left the book open and kept his eyes resting on the pages, but he was no longer reading; when he and the Galian began talking as of late, it took a while, and if Tifa woke during that time, she would know what was going on. She had figured out the 'facade' he put up during these moments, and usually waited until he closed the book before talking to him herself.

_**Ah yes, I recall now. She ruined... what, two moments? Two perfect opportunities?**_

_Three_, he corrected. _Three perfect moments, all of them ruined by Yuffie. As it is, I had to distract Yuffie with something else in order to successfully propose to Tifa this time around._

_**At what point will you tell her you deceived her? The annoying brat, I mean?**_

_Never. She doesn't need to know that she delayed it; it'd just make her feel really guilty, really bad._

_**Then stop blaming her yourself.**_

Vincent gave a small sigh, knowing deep down that the Galian had a point there. His thoughts drifted to each moment, to the point of time where he was prepared to ask Tifa to marry him, to the point where Yuffie, whether by accident or intentionally, interrupted and wrecked it all. _All that careful planning, and I couldn't factor in a way to cope should Yuffie come and ruin it._

_**The first time... When was that again? Eight, nine months ago?**_

_You have a knack for getting numbers entirely off, Galian. No, the first moment was six months before I actually proposed. Seven months ago._

_**I was a month off.**_

He ignored the last comment and reflected on it.

--

_Tifa had been closing the bar, he was helping her. A few stragglers remained, Yuffie, Reeve and Shelke among them. They were helping out as best they could, even despite Tifa's protests._

_"You three are patrons!" she exclaimed, shooing Reeve from his task. "I couldn't ask you guys to help me close!"_

_Reeve chuckled, shaking his head. "But see, you're closing, Tifa. Which means we're no longer patrons, but friends. And the faster you close, the sooner you can kick back and relax." He looked at Vincent and gave a small, subtle nod._

_Vincent's right hand slid to his pocket, to make sure the ring was still there. He had checked a few times already that night, and assumed it was just nerves getting the best of him. The Galian had been, surprisingly, rather quiet about it, intent on not ruining it for the gunner. In his effort, he had let Reeve in on his intention tonight, and Reeve agreed to keep the other two from them once they had closed. He felt the ring still in its small box and slowly withdrew his hand, continuing to close the bar. "Tifa, it's not a big deal," he said. "Reeve's right; there's nothing wrong with them helping."_

_"Yeah, but..." She wasn't sure how to put what she was thinking into words, and decided not to. "Oh, never mind. I guess it does close up faster this way, doesn't it?"_

_Yuffie and Shelke were busy cleaning up tables. Some of the patrons tonight had decided to go overboard and accidentally spilled a few too many beers on their table. This was the case at more than one table. Neither of them said much through the process of closing, really only talking to each other. They glanced at Vincent as his hand went to his pocket once more, and they began discussing why this could be; they had noticed it a few times through the night already, and thought something was up._

_Reeve gave a small sigh, looking around the bar. "Now, it's not my area of expertise, but I'd say this is just about done." He turned to face Tifa, then Vincent. "Why don't you two go on upstairs? We'll finish up down here for you two and then be on our way."_

_Vincent gave him a very discreet nod of approval. He hadn't expected Reeve to help him this much, but ultimately decided it was best. Now he had to make it seem like he wasn't so keen on the idea, just so Tifa wouldn't suspect anything. "Oh no, we couldn't just do that. It's--"_

_Sure enough, Tifa interrupted him, giving him a slight look of surprise. "Vince, we've both deserved a little time off from closing tonight. I think we can, just this once, take him up on the offer."_

_"Are... you sure?" he asked, trying to make it as uncertain as he could. It was all going perfectly, he just had to play along for now._

_"Positive." She smiled at Reeve, nodding her head. "Thanks for helping, Reeve. But you know you don't have to--"_

_"I know, and yet I still do. Well, to be more accurate, the three of us are still helping," he added, chuckling. "Go on, relax. We've got this."_

_She nodded, waving a hand to the two girls, both of which were still talking amongst themselves. They stopped long enough to wave to her and Vincent as they went upstairs, then resumed talking again._

_The two stepped into their room upstairs, ready to relax. Tifa was ready to, in any case. Vincent had something else in mind, and was still a little nervous. He had gotten reassurance from the Galian that nothing could go wrong in proposing tonight._

_"That was really nice of them to help us close tonight," she said, laying on the bed, exhausted. "I still feel guilty leaving the closing to them, though."_

_"Don't feel guilty when they're the ones who offered to finish closing," he said with a smile._

_"You're right. It just feels weird knowing I'm up here when the bar's not completely closed yet..." She closed her eyes, a hand patting the bed next to her. "Come on. I know you're tired too, Vince."_

_He nodded, but remained standing where he was. "I am, and I'll join you in a moment." His hand fumbled into his pocket again, checking for the ring for the last time that night. "They're like family to us, aren't they? And not just them, but everyone else."_

_"Yeah. It's still a little weird knowing that Cloud's behind us all the way, even with his own feelings..." She shook her head. "Why'm I changing the topic?"_

_He chuckled, hand still in his pocket. "It's fine. I was more or less thinking the same thing of him." He moved closer, his heart starting to race. "Family... It's been a while since I last heard the term and thought that I have any."_

_"That's right too. Your parents... Your sisters..." Tifa sighed, eyes still closed. "I know I've said it before, but I'm sorry for your losses."_

_"And I've said 'thanks' many times before, and will say it once more. Thanks." He sat on the bed next to her, now knowing where to go with this. "To know I have family again, and especially so close... It's a comforting thing." He took a deep, silent breath. This was it. "And I've been thinking it's time I become real family to someone," he said slowly, carefully. He tried to keep any instances of nervousness out of his voice, and found both his own mind and the Galian laughing at the situation. A rare occurrence._

_She opened her eyes and looked at him. "'Become real family'? What are you..." Her voice trailed and she suddenly knew what he was talking about, but betrayed no hints of acknowledgement in her face, her voice, and most notably, her eyes._

_He opened his mouth to speak again, prepared to slide the hand still in his pocket out, holding the ring box in it. "I--" he began._

_The door swung wide open, Yuffie standing in the doorway. Her eyes slid over both of them, and rested on Tifa. "Hey, we, uh... need a little help with something down here," she said, scratching the back of her head sheepishly._

_Vincent silently cursed Yuffie for ruining it. Unbeknownst to him, Tifa was also ruing the fact, but she sat up regardless. "What's up?" she asked._

_"You... well, you might actually need to come down to help..." she said. "It's..."_

_Tifa sighed, standing slowly. She cast a look that seemed to say 'sorry' before following Yuffie out of the room._

_He watched his moment slip away in that instant, hand removing the ring from his pocket and placing it in his hiding place once more._

--

He was still focused on the page he had been on while he recounted this memory to himself. _If she hadn't come in at that time..._

_**And that Reeve fellow said he'd keep them away while you proposed, too. I remember the excuse he provided.**_

_Well, knowing Yuffie, there was no way he could prevent it. Once she's set on something, she sticks with it._ He absentmindedly turned a page, tired of scanning the same words repeatedly. _Even if it means she inadvertantly destroys the moment I worked to create in the process._

_**Now, the second time saw Cloud helping you two out, wasn't that right? He told you about a small getaway you two could go to, suggesting to Tifa that she close the bar for a while, for personal reasons. And so you two went along to the getaway he mentioned.**_

_Mm. That moment was perfect as well, possibly more so than the first. The topic of that evening was wine, and I recall you were wondering how that could possibly tie into proposing marriage._

--

_"Wine?" she repeated, blinking slowly._

_He nodded, holding up a bottle. "Wine." He was cursing himself for repeating the word, but knew how to keep going with it. He didn't have this topic planned for nothing, after all. "Did you know that wine can do a lot for people?"_

_"Oh? Like what?" She watched as he filled two glasses with the red wine in the bottle. "Other than get said people mildly drunk?"_

_He chuckled, setting the bottle down and handing a glass to Tifa. "It can help people forget things they'd like to forget. It can also ruin someone's evening if done properly." He picked up his own glass, eyes on the contents. "In my opinion, though, the fact that wine can also foster and strengthen relationships is what makes it so elegant, so perfect."_

_"I've never thought of it that way before," she said quietly, taking a small drink from her glass. She slowly clicked the pieces together and maintained the illusion of 'oblivious-to-your-intention-to-ask-me-to-marry-you', smiling inwardly._

_He drank from his own glass, then set it down slowly, cursing Hojo for damning him to have only one human hand. The claw would no doubt destroy the glass, but it'd also scratch him to hell, possibly destroying the ring box he was beginning to seek. "Not many people do, but when you're holed up in a coffin for thirty years, you tend to find deeper meanings and hidden intentions behind everyday things," he said with a wink. His hand made contact with the ring box and he prepared to procure it._

_It was then that his phone rang, and he fought every urge to kick himself for not turning it off. He looked at her, and she sighed. "Go ahead and answer," she said, drinking from her glass. "Could be really important."_

_Was he just imagining it, or did she sound really put out?_

--

_Yuffie's ability to interrupt anyone at the worst possible time kicked in again_, he thought, glancing at the very phone that had ruined the second perfect moment to propose.

_**You realize that was more your fault than hers, right?**_

_Cloud told me, swore up and down, that there was no cell phone reception here. I didn't see a point turning it off with that knowledge, seeing whereas I may have forgotten to turn it back on until someone tried calling and told me about it._

_**So it's his fault and the annoying brat's? Amazing, then, how he's your Best Man and she's your fiancee's Maid of Honor.**_

He paused to muse over this small tidbit, realizing it to be true. _Well, it wasn't exactly his fault. Or hers. I guess it was all my fault._

_**When you got off the phone, Tifa had fallen asleep, right?**_

He nodded slowly, eyes moving back to the book's exposed pages. _It was my fault. But nothing could've gone wrong with the third moment. I had even factored in Yuffie interrupting, and I was damned sure it'd work that time._

_**That man with the gun-arm--**_

_Barret._

_**Yeah, him. He was the one that helped the third time around, right? After you told him, he agreed to watch the two children for a while, allowing you and Tifa time alone. You two went out for the night. Or rather, she dragged you along while she did some casual shopping.**_

_She didn't drag me along,_ he replied defensively. _I agreed to go with her, figuring it would be the perfect time to ask her once more. Of course, it was a bit more public than, say, our room or the getaway Cloud told us about, but that wasn't so much a deterrance at this point._

_**So, how was it you factored in her interrupting again? The annoying brat?**_

_I thought she would call me up, so I left my phone at the bar, turned off. No chances this time. I even set her upon a date with that guy from three and a half years past._

_**Hojo Nagatami. I remember him; he thought he had seen your fiancee in the month she had disappeared.**_

_I ran into him again and we got talking. He told me how he was actually very interested in Yuffie, and I knew I had the perfect opportunity once more. I worked at it a little, but successfully played 'matchmaker', something I'd never even have dreamed of doing in the past._

_**I still think it's funny how the third moment for you was ruined.**_

_Shut up. I don't think it's so funny._

--

_Tifa had brought him to place after place, eventually winding up in a jewelry store. Vincent found a twisted bit of irony in this, considering he was about to propose to her with a ring from this very place._

_The store clerk recognized Vincent, noticed no ring on Tifa's finger, and gave him a silent, quizzical look. Vincent gave his eyes a small roll, intending to convey that unforeseen circumstances had ruined the moment not once, but twice now._

_He wasn't sure the store clerk understood, but assumed she did._

_Tifa was busy examining a pair of earrings. "Hey Vince," she said slowly. "What's your favorite kind of gemstone?"_

_He thought about it for a while. "I've never given it much thought, really. Offhand, I'd have to say garnet." He took this and ran with it, assuming it to be the best topic to pursue; he could work with this too. "What's yours?"_

_She smiled, still looking at the earrings. "Diamond," she said simply. "It's just the ultimate in beauty, don't you think so? It sparkles under the right amount of sunlight, the prismatic colors reflect upon everything around it." She glanced at him. "A person's favorite gemstone can tell a lot about one's personality, you know."_

_"I'm assuming this is more advanced than finishing a book or not," he mused, hand palming the ring box subtly. "So, diamond's your favorite gemstone?"_

_She nodded, looking now to a necklace that matched the earrings she had been looking at before. "It is."_

_The store clerk decided to pipe in, and Vincent was wary at first, but realized it would help in the long run. "Well, if you like diamond, might I interest you in this ring?" she said, giving Vincent a reassuring wink. She gestured to a ring that was clearly for display only._

_Identical to the one Vincent was planning on giving Tifa._

_Tifa moved to examine it and let a small gasp escape her. "Wow, this is..." She admired it for a while. "It's beautiful... Are there any...?"_

_The store clerk shook her head. "Afraid not. Sold the last one a while back. This one's strictly display. A shame, really, that it's taking so long for us to get more of these." She glanced to Vincent, allowing him to take over._

_"Tifa, I'm sure we can get one," he said quietly. "It shouldn't be too hard, I think."_

_She looked at him, a smile at her lips. "And what makes you so confident in that?"_

_He never got a chance to tell her he was that confident because he had one on him right now. This was owing largely to the fact that they heard someone shout to both of them, and Vincent let a small, audible groan out. He could've almost sworn he heard Tifa groan too._

_Yuffie was running over to them, her date behind her, almost as enthused to see the two of them as Yuffie was._

_He wondered if this was someone's idea of a joke._

--

_**You thought you had her away from the two of you by setting her up with a date.**_ The demon's laughter echoed in his mind.

_Oh yes, I thought I did. I never would've thought they'd come to the same shopping mall Tifa and I were at, though. Small world, I guess._

_**Heh.**_

_Oh, shut up. At least I have someone to love._ He knew this would strike a nerve with the Galian; the demon still avoided the topic of its own 'love life' at all costs. It had even tried forcing a transformation once, just to shut Vincent up. This was the first time Vincent had mentioned it since the demon had almost taken over, and he supposed he was treading dangerous waters now.

_**Watch it, Valentine.**_ The Galian took to referring to Vincent by his last name, as it had in the past, only when it was either extremely angry or just really argumentative.

_Fine, fine._ He glanced back at Tifa. _I have to wonder... The second and third moments, she seemed almost... well, annoyed that Yuffie interrupted. Is it possible she knew what I was up to...?_

_**Try asking her herself one day.**_

_And hope Yuffie's not there to ruin it for me_, he mused to himself. _It'd tear her apart to learn she got in the way of an earlier proposal three times in a row._

_**I think you should tell her just for that reason.**_

Vincent closed the book and lay down next to Tifa, who was still asleep. _I just might one day_, he thought, grinning at the thought. He closed his eyes. _But for now, I need to get some sleep._ He allowed said sleep to overcome him.

--

A pair of eyes was watching Vincent from afar as he lay down to sleep. A small laugh was barely audible.

"Found you," the voice of Lizu practically sang.

* * *

_Now for the after-chapter rant._

_First off, a HUGE thank you to **Kukuxmusuu**__ for giving me the idea for this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it! While the chapter itself is mine, the idea of it belongs to you. So, in a nutshell, Chapter 5 is for you!_

_On another note... I will say that reading The Mist last night only reaffirmed that I can't handle horror too well. I've never been a big fan of horror, and things aren't exactly looking up for me on that note, either. Not that it's much of an issue; I prefer comedy, action/adventure, stuff of that nature. I will also say I have a slight soft spot for romance, though I don't find myself reading stories that are exclusively romance much. If it's tossed in with something else, it's much better._

_And once more, I have no chapter prepared to put up for this story. So now I've got to write that, as well as finish Chapter 3 of Hiding Secrets. I'm a busy, busy man lately, and that's not precisely a good thing..._

_Ah, before I forget, I'm thinking of starting a series of oneshots sometime in the near future. I'm probably going to finish Of Crystals Born first and make a LOT more progress on Hiding Secrets before I do, but the basis of this series would be to write oneshots the readers suggest. I'd start it with one of my own, and take it from there, using ideas exclusively from the readers from there. I might also update that more frequently than I normally do (wait, more frequently than a story/chapter a day? **Spiritslayer**- Yes, more often than that.). Again, this will be in the near future, though my definition of 'near future' is kind of... well, a month at least. Don't ask why this is the case; I'm an interesting guy like that._

_Okay, I've ranted long enough. Next chapter is going to be a blast, I can feel it. It's during this next chapter that we'll see just what exactly the crystal Lizu has is capable of. -Spiritslayer_


	6. Midnight's Gleam

_Here's the next chapter. I've decided to save all rants from now on for the end of the chapter, meaning there will be no pre-read A.N. from here on out. Obvious exception is this one. -Spiritslayer_

* * *

Lizu slowly approached the hotel the two were staying in, twirling her staff in her hand casually as she went. She would've hummed a tune to herself in merriment if she wasn't going for stealth here. She clasped the staff tight and positioned her foot in the crescent of her staff, gliding above the ground to the window of their hotel room.

She looked inside, watching them as she slowly slid the window open. She did a fancy flip inside, slipping the staff in silently behind her. Her feet touched the carpet, eyes still on the couple. She stood up straight slowly, once again perching her foot on the staff's crescent and gliding toward them slowly, silently.

She was four feet from the sleeping 'guide' when a flash of purple appeared in her field of vision. The flash winded her and sent her flying backward, leaving her little opportunity to recover her balance. Yet she did, and she rested her feet on the carpet again, eyes on the cause of the purple flash.

A purple-skinned monster was standing between her and Tifa, horns protruding from its head. It flexed its claws and fixed black eyes on her. _**"So, the nightmare survives,"**_ the monster said, eyes flicking to the orb of Lizu's staff. _**"And he has an insignificant helper, I see."**_

Lizu glared at the monster. "And you would be...?" she asked quietly. She, much like the monster before her, didn't want to wake Tifa; her reasons were different, however.

She preferred Tifa asleep for what she wanted to do.

The monster cracked its neck, drawing its claws back slightly. _**"Your worst nightmare, remnant. I am the Galian that resides inside Vincent Valentine."**_

She cracked her own neck, pointing the staff's tip at the demon. "Remnant? Hah, don't lump me in with my idiot brothers. They acted much too early; they thought that rushing to answer the great's call would make things better. I was smarter. And further," she said, taking a step forward. "I'm not a remnant like them, either. I am one of those who was injected with Mother's cells before the great attempted to seize the planet back." She narrowed her eyes, taking another step forward. "My name is Lizu. Remember it well, Galian, for your host would appreciate knowing the name." She rushed the demon with unnatural speed.

The Galian, however, wasn't so pathetic as to be caught off guard. It drew its claws back savagely and connected with Lizu's abdomen. She grunted from the impact, and the demon sent her flying outside the window. Her staff's blades grazed the window glass, putting a three-inch incision in the bottom. The demon rushed out after her, expertly dodging the window and keeping it from shattering.

Tifa was still asleep somehow, and both the demon and Lizu were grateful for it, although for completely separate reasons.

"So, 'my worst nightmare' doesn't want to wake the guide?" she sneered, twirling her staff slowly at first. It picked up speed and became a silver blur in time. "You're not as vicious as you look, Galian." She dashed toward the demon, staff still twirling in her hand.

_**"Get it right, fool,"**_ the demon snarled, lashing out with its claws. The claws sank into Lizu's stomach and she gasped, staff slowly stopping its twirl. The demon clenched a fist with claws still buried in her chest, and she fought the urge to cry out.

She gripped her staff and stabbed the tip at the demon's head. The blades sliced effortlessly through the demon's horns, lopping the severed parts to the ground. It released her and stepped backward, eyes fixed on her.

_**"You're not to be underestimated," **_it growled, clenching fists and rushing to slug Lizu in the stomach, to amplify the pain of the wounds in her stomach. _**"But neither am I!"**_ it roared.

The fist impacted... something. Neither of them knew what the demon had wound up punching, but she watched the demon fly backward from some mysterious explosion.

A voice rang through the demon's mind. _"You shall not harm my guide, you worthless demon,"_ the voice shouted. Lizu could hear the voice as well, and realized that it was Sephiroth who put up the barrier that blocked the demon's fist. She realized it was him who sent the Galian flying backward.

_**"Your 'guide'? Hah. She's pathetically weak. No match for my host, let alone me."**_

_"Then perhaps... I can be of a challenge to you," _Sephiroth said calmly. The staff glowed and they both heard the former general speak again. _"My love, allow me to borrow your body. This staff isn't quite my old sword, but it'll do just as fine."_

Lizu gripped the staff with one hand, her other hand clutching her gut. "But... I can..." she said slowly.

_"You've taken a beating already, my love. Do not force death upon yourself, or all this effort will have been for naught." _The jet black orb suddenly shone white, blinding the Galian.

Lizu closed her eyes, unaffected, mysteriously enough, by the light. "I loan you my body," she whispered, raising her other hand to her staff. She rested the now bloodstained hand upon the orb and fell unconscious momentarily.

--

When she awoke, she was back in control of her body. The wound on her stomach was gone, and her staff wasn't in her hand. She felt uneasy without it, and began searching frantically for it. A cloud shifted, revealing the sight before her.

The Spiked Crescent was sticking out of an unconscious man's chest, apparently inches from his heart. She stood slowly, as she had been laying down, and walked forward. She rested her hand upon the staff and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, my love," she whispered. "In the end... It was entirely up to you to fend off this demon..."

"Do not worry it, Lizu. Better to have me fight in your place than to lose you for eternity." The staff's orb was jet black again, and her eyes fell to the fallen man.

Blood was steadily pouring from the wound in Vincent Valentine's chest, his breathing labored. She gave a triumphant smirk. "Rot in hell at long last, 'demon'," she jeered.

"Save him, Lizu."

She couldn't believe the order she was receiving. "W-what?! My love, with all due respect, are you _insane_?! He's the one we wished to slay!"

"In time, yes. But he's not precisely friends with everyone else. He needs to be alive when his guide... suddenly hates him."

She remembered the original plan and focused white magics into the orb of her staff. She begrudgingly swept the orb over the dying man's body and watched his bleeding stop, the bloodstains remove themselves from his clothes. She watched as his body slowly gained the appearance of never having seen combat, and sighed. "I would've... just as well seen him dead," she muttered.

"You'll kill him, Lizu. Just not now." The staff's orb glowed faintly, tugging her toward the hotel room where Tifa lay. "Come. We have something else that requires our attention right now."

She gave a silent nod, walking toward the hotel room's window and stepping inside slowly and carefully, once more taking care not to break the window and alert Tifa to her presence.

In the end, it didn't matter if Tifa was awake or asleep. It was just much simpler to accomplish the task before her if the 'guide' was asleep.

She was once more four feet from Tifa and gave a small grin. "Such beauty is not deserving of a monstrosity such as him," she sighed silently. "Fortunately, I have the means to rectify this mortal sin." She withdrew the crystal and hovered it over Tifa's body, watching it pulse with color.

"No," Sephiroth said to her. "Don't use it."

She looked flabbergasted. "What'm I supposed to do? Watch her to death?" she snapped quietly.

"Recall the two properties of the crystal, my love. It doesn't just hold one property."

She looked ready to question her love, but slowly realized what he was talking about. "Of course. I'm sorry." She rose the crystal to the razor sharp edges of the staff's tip and slid the crystal over the blades. There was no scraping noise as the blades sliced a small piece of the crystal away. She watched the piece fall to the floor with a very muffled thump on the carpet and pocketed the larger crystal before picking up the new, smaller piece.

"Of light born, shadows traverse." Lizu held the shard over Tifa's body, eyes closing. "When shadow strikes, light extinguishes." The shard was lowered to Tifa's chest, hovering over her heart. "With light extinguished, night prevails." She rested the shard upon Tifa's chest, watching as it glowed momentarily before turning jet black, just as her orb had. "Crystal of night, overtake the guide." She pressed a single finger against the shard, imbedding it into Tifa.

The martial artist groaned softly in her sleep as the shard slipped through her clothing, then her flesh. Lizu continued pressing, her finger following the shard momentarily to imbed it into Tifa's heart. She withdrew her finger slowly, a triumphant grin on her face.

"Release your hatred, crystal of night."

Inside Tifa's heart, the shard of crystal dissolved into a jet black substance. Her heart pulsed the substance all through her body. The martial artist squirmed uncomfortably in her sleep as the substance overtook her body, seemed to fuse with her blood.

Lizu watched, satisfied. "The claw to the gut, allowing you to take over my body... It was worth it." She turned briskly to the window and smirked.

Vincent Valentine was standing just inside the window, eyes blazing as he glared at Lizu. "You..."

She gave a small laugh. "Not quite, Valentine," she said. Her voice seemed to catch Vincent by surprise.

"...You're not Sephiroth," the gunner finally said.

She shook her head. "My name is Lizu," she said calmly, giving a small bow. "How do you do?"

He didn't acknowledge her introduction, instead looking at his fiancee. "_What'd you do to her_?" he hissed, taking a step toward her. She could see the murderous intentions in his eyes.

"You'll find out in the morning," she replied simply. "If you'll excuse me."

He blocked her path to the window, eyes still blazing. She could see hatred and anger mixed into the cauldrons that were his eyes, and chuckled. "_Undo it_," he snarled, reaching his golden claw out for her suddenly.

She brought her staff up in front of her, blocking the claw. As he went to close his claw around it, she yanked it back and drove the bottom portion of the staff into his side. The force of the blow stunned him momentarily. She took the newfound opening and drove her elbow into his solar plexus, grinning with satisfaction as he doubled over, gasping for air. "Have a good night," she laughed, leaping out the window and allowing it to slide shut quickly. The resulting rattle of glass panes startled Tifa, but she continued to sleep.

Vincent watched the silver-haired woman run away, the woman that had done... something to Tifa. He looked at Tifa, eyes wrought with worry. _Who was she?_

_**She said... her name is... Lizu...**_

Vincent heard the Galian's voice and realized, in slow horror, that the demon's voice and breathing patterns were ragged. _What... happened?_

_**Forgive me... Vincent. I took over... your body... while you slept... to protect her... But Lizu posed... more threat than... I gave her credit...**_ The demon gave a small cough.

Vincent was still stunned to hear the demon sound so... worn out, so beaten. _And... you were defeated?_

_**Not by Lizu... by him...**_

_Him?_

He imagined the demon was giving a look split between amusement and pain. _**The one dwelling... in her staff...**_

_Who is he?_

_**The nightmare.**_

Vincent didn't want to believe what the demon had just told him. The former SOLDIER First Class was dead, gone forever. There was no way he could still be alive, no way he could be causing problems. _It's... impossible. No, he can't be! He's dead, slain by Cloud two years ago! JENOVA's head was dissolved with Kadaj's body! There's no way possible he's still alive!_

_**Not in body... but his spirit... He possessed Lizu... to fight me... It was evident in... his fighting style, Vincent...**_ The demon was slowly recovering, but Vincent knew it'd take a few days for the demon to recover fully. _**Somehow, some way unknown to us... Sephiroth lives.**_

He sat on his side of the bed, mind swimming. He glanced at Tifa, filled with even more concerns. _I'll... have to talk to her about all this. I can't try to understand this alone, and she'll want to know that... Lizu... did something to her._ He lay down on the bed, facing his fiancee. "Tifa..." he whispered, still shaken, but managing to fall asleep.

Little did Vincent know that nothing would be the same when they both woke.

* * *

_So, this story's turning out the way I want it to. For those of you wondering 'what's he doing to it?!', don't worry; I have a happy ending planned. This won't, of course, mean there are no more road bumps. Yes, Lizu getting that shard of crystal into Tifa is the first road bump, and it's more a hurtle than anything. A huge hurtle. One that you'd require a pole vaulting stick to clear. And a lot of anti-gravity. Okay, I'm done exaggerating. But this first road bump is indeed the first of a series of grand problems in this story._

_'Wait, the Galian can take over Vincent while the gunslinger's asleep?' Well, in my story, he can. I HOPE that in The Galian, I established that the demon's more sadistic, choosing instead to make Vincent suffer some torment. When the gunslinger's asleep, however, the demon is still awake. How else did the demon peek into Vincent's nightmares and have fun with those? The demon's sense of humor is extremely sick and twisted, isn't it? Anyway, back on track, the demon chooses not to take Vincent over while he's asleep because there's no struggle for control, no uncertainty._

_I realize I said last chapter that the crystal's significance in this story would be revealed this chapter, but I decided that the way things happened here, I'd save that for the next chapter. Sorry I lied to you all. I swear that I'll establish it next chapter. Swear up and down, lightning strike me if I'm lying (and we're having some T-storms right now, so that's a very viable possibility today)._

_Sephiroth possessing Lizu... I almost didn't put this in, but I figured that the way the Galian was fighting, she was easily inferior in close-quarters skill. Her specialty lies in magic, which is generally ranged fighting. She has some close-quarters experience, but it's not enough to face a demon whose main weapons happen to be sharp claws. I figured that, in order to make this progress, I'd either have to rewrite it... Or let the mighty Sephiroth gain a body for a time and mop up. So why didn't he just keep the body? He loves her; otherwise, he probably would've. So take that and shove it, Kadaj._

_Alright, non-story rant now. It's pouring out, I wore a flimsy coat over a white shirt to get where I am now. No, I'm not soaked all the way through; my coat is. I'm just really chilly right now, and would put my coat on if it wouldn't be self-defeating. I usually suffer chills in too much AC, but this is just ridiculous. It's nice when I step inside from, say, ninety degree weather, but when it's only seventy-three outside and the temperature drops, indoors, to roughly sixty degrees? Worst part is, they don't shut off the AC until about Jan/Feb! It's midwinter by then! Cold out! Guess this is nature's way of saying 'wear heavy long sleeves'..._

_I have found myself, once more, rethinking the third chapter of Hiding Secrets. Yes, this means I'm scrapping what I've got now and starting anew on the next chapter. So much wasted time..._

_In other news, I've begun writing, just when I'm bored, an Oblivion fanfic. It takes the main questline and tosses not one, but two main characters into it. I don't use many lines directly from the game, just because that feels... well, too pre-written. Most of my writing's original coming from the characters. When there's no other way around it, though, I use lines from the game. Again, I only work on this when I don't feel like fussing over either Hiding Secrets or Of Crystals Born. It's a nice release from the FFVII realm, and takes me back down memory lane._

_One final notice before I wrap this rant up. My updates on all stories will most likely be less frequent starting next Monday. My schedule changes drastically, and I may find myself trying to update early mornings instead of afternoon/evening. This is bad for me, because I'm not a morning person, and don't usually get my day officially started until 10:00 in the morning. Any earlier, I'm either cranky for the rest of the day, or I conk out until 10:00. Today, for instance, I woke up at 7:30 this morning. Fell asleep again and woke up at about 10:35. Luckily, I'm not cranky, although this weather is reason enough for me to be._

_Okay, I think that if you're still reading, I've kept you long enough. I'll try and get the next chapter up tomorrow afternoon/evening; nothing definite, though. Tomorrow, I'm being forced to wake early. I'm talking '4:00 in the morning' early. Oh yes, I'm probably going to be really cranky tomorrow. -Spiritslayer_


	7. Lack Luster

_She watched, horrified, as the man she loved most was brought to his knees by his enemy. She tried clenching fists, but nothing worked; her body was paralyzed. She wondered momentarily if this was a dream._

_A dream? No, a nightmare._

_He stood slowly, stumbling considerably as he did. His eyes were fixed on his enemy, hand reaching for his weapon._

_A gun? She looked hard at the weapon he was reaching for. No, not a gun._

_A sword._

_She watched as the man she loved was suddenly in front of the enemy, sword over his head. The enemy gave a smirk -- or at least, that's what she thought it was -- before striking the swordsman, knocking him backward. The sword fell to the ground, though no sound was heard._

_The enemy was a martial artist, much like herself. The enemy's hair was about her own hair's length. She thought she saw eyes similar in color to her own. Her own eyes flitted to her loved one._

_He was standing slowly once again, this time clutching his side. He bent down to pick up his weapon again, but this time it was a gun._

_Had it been a gun before? No, she was sure it had been a sword._

_Who was this man fighting for her?_

_Was he fighting for her?_

_Or was he just fighting?_

_She watched as his raven-black hair shifted as he silently cracked his neck, his crimson eyes meeting the enemy's gaze. He loaded the weapon slowly, eyes narrowing as he did._

_The enemy waited for him to finish loading his gun before rushing him. A fist was drawn back, and it connected with the gunslinger's chest._

_She could only watch as he suffered a savage beating. Those moves from the enemy... they seemed familiar to her..._

_Did she know who this enemy was? No, she was lost to the identity._

_He staggered, falling backward onto his back. She watched, helpless, as the enemy buried a foot into his chest. She watched the gunslinger's face contort in pain, giving a silent scream._

_The enemy smirked once more, digging their heel into the gunner's chest. Blood began flowing freely from the spot, and she watched as the gunner seemed to suddenly relax._

_The gun slipped from his hand, falling further than she had expected it to. She had been under the impression this was all solid, but suddenly she noticed the area around them was smoky, almost phantasmal. She watched as the gun slowly became a speck in the distance below them._

_The enemy twisted their heel in the gunner's chest before yanking it out violently. The martial artist then turned to face her._

_She wanted to scream, but her body was incapable of doing so in this realm of sorts._

_She was looking at a corrupted mirror image of herself._

_This was definitely a nightmare._

--

Tifa woke suddenly, sweating. She wanted to look over at her fiance, to make sure he was still alive. Instead, her arm moved to her forehead, resting on it. She chose to simply accept it; that was a rough nightmare.

She wasn't expecting to watch as her arm suddenly struck Vincent's chest. He woke from the sudden impact, hand snatching her wrist. She wanted to wince, but she seemed to be denied control of her body.

Was this another nightmare?

He looked at her, confused. "Tifa? Are you alright?"

She opened her mouth to speak, though whether it was of her own accord or not was beyond her. She decided it wasn't of her own accord when she heard herself say "Shut up, coward."

He sat up slowly, frowning. "Tifa, you're... not well, are you?"

"I'm perfectly fine," she heard herself say. She tried fighting with whatever had control of her body, but it was to no avail.

She was a spectator in this situation, and she had a feeling she understood what the being controlling her was aiming for.

Vincent shook his head. "You're not fine. Last night, someone attacked us. She beat me, and she did something to you."

Tifa's mind was racing. That would explain so much of her current behavior.

But how to regain control again?

"Oh, is that right?" she found herself saying. She resigned herself to simply watching and listening to whatever 'she' did; no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't regain control of her mind, or her body.

He gave a small shrug. "You wouldn't really know. You were asleep through it."

"Liar."

He looked away, glancing back at her for a moment before looking away again. "Maybe. Maybe this is all one big nightmare that we'll wake from."

She watched, horrified, as her arm lashed out, delivering a solid punch to his face. The force sent him flying off the bed to the floor below it. Her hand stung, and she knew in that instant that this wasn't a nightmare.

This was very real.

He stood slowly, rubbing his face. "Well, now I know this is reality." He gave his head a small shake, as though to clear his mind.

Tifa wondered why she couldn't control herself, quite literally. She fought relentlessly for control, but was unable; she was stuck watching and feeling herself attack Vincent.

He was blocking each strike as best he could without causing harm to her. "Dammit, Tifa! Focus! We both know you can defeat whatever's taken you over!" he shouted as he blocked her attacks.

She felt a wry grin cross her face. "She no longer has control of any sort. She is a spectator to this event, and I am her," slipped from her mouth.

"So who are you?" he asked, finally fed up. He counterattacked strongly. He gave her an apologetic look as he did, knowing that 'spectator' though she may be, she'd know he didn't want to do this.

"That's none of your business," the other being replied, blocking his attack effortlessly. Tifa's body seized his arm and yanked him hard toward her, delivering a powerful attack to his chest.

He was winded by the counterattack and staggered, bending over to try and catch his breath easier. This was made difficult by the uppercut he received from her.

Tifa was horrified as she found her body capitalizing on his moment's exposed weakness. Punch after punch was thrown into his body, and she could only watch.

She could only watch her fiance get beaten senselessly.

His vision began blurring, the impact of all the attacks he had received threatening his state of consciousness. Yet he could do nothing in response; her attacks were too fast for him to deal with without hurting her seriously. _This is normally where I'd ask you for assistance, but given the events of last night..._

_**Indeed. I can't do much here, Vincent, without risking her death. Death Gigas and Hellmasker aren't much better, either. Besides, you're looking at her eyes, right?**_

_Mm. She's completely awake, and she's being forced, more or less, to watch these events unfold._ He was knocked down by her final strike, landing limply on the floor. His body ached, and he saw no point in trying to stand again; to do so would only subject him to more of a beating. "Tifa, come to your senses!" he shouted, slowly moving around to see how much he _could_ move without aching.

_**She's had control of her body wrested from her, but from the look in her eyes, she's not completely taken over. That she still has control of her eyes indicates she's attempting to fight it off.**_

_Is there anything I can do to help her?_ he wondered, a foot driving into his stomach sharply. He fought for breath, trying to look at her.

"Vince..." she managed to say. She gasped, but continued quickly. "I... need to get out of here... before whatever's taken me over kills you..."

Vincent only nodded as he tried fervently to regain his breath. "You'll... be alright..." he managed. "I'll... find some way..."

"I'm so sorry," she said in almost a whisper. She felt her moment's control start to slip away from her, and used the last of her control to begin running from him.

He heard her running and knew it was for the best. He'd recover in time, and he'd find some way to help her. For now, all he could do was listen to her run away. _I wonder how she regained control for that moment?_

_**Perhaps her body is fatigued and she was able to regain control with that in mind. To me, it makes the most sense.**_

Vincent could only agree with the demon. _She'll... be fine. Right?_

_**I don't know, Vincent. She's running now, but what will happen once she loses control again?**_

_I don't want to think about it._ He fought to sit up, wincing slightly as he did. _Damn that Lizu. I don't know how she did it, but this is her doing, I just know it._

--

"Reeve! Come on!" Yuffie groaned exasperatedly. "Why do we gotta go back to Midgar?"

Shelke delivered a firm smack upside her partner's head. "Don't you see it yet? We have to go back because there's been activity there."

"Precisely," Reeve said. He was seated behind his desk, Yuffie was sitting down across from him. Shelke was sitting down, giving Yuffie a disapproving look. "The squads we sent in have found signs of activity, and they're recent. I'd send the squads in, but you two are better suited for it."

"But why us?" Yuffie asked, rubbing the back of her head, glaring at Shelke. "Why can't they do it?"

"I wonder that as well," Shelke said coldly, now turning her eyes to Reeve, ice evident in them. "Why us? Because we can fight off whoever's there better than a squad can?"

"No," he sighed. "It's because you're both much better at stealth investigation than a squad would be. Yuffie's a ninja of Wutai, and she's done her fair share of concealment in her lifetime. And you, Shelke, were once Shelke the Transparent of the Tsviets. Although you no longer hold this title to your heart, you still possess the abilities of transparency that came with it."

Both girls felt stupid for assuming their own individual things about him. "Sorry," both of them said simultaneously.

"Not to worry. I tried explaining it to Shelke last time she brought it up, but I guess she was just too set on not hearing what I had to say."

The former Tsviet had never felt smaller, uttering a tiny "I'm sorry."

"Can't we at least get a little help?" Yuffie asked. "I mean, it gets boring when my only constant companion is my best friend and we run out of things to discuss to pass the time."

"If you can think of anyone else who's a master of concealment, then by all means, let me know."

Both of them knew he had them there. "When do we start this mission?" Shelke finally asked.

"Preferably as soon as possible. No telling what may happen if you delay this."

They both nodded, and Yuffie stood slowly. "Guess I'll go get ready," she sighed, leaving the room. "Catch you later, Shelke."

Shelke watched her partner go, then turned her attention back to Reeve. "About this activity..."

He nodded. "I sent a small squad to investigate the areas you had mentioned. The ones that had been explored after the Deepground incident. There's been more activity there lately, and they reported everything they saw and heard." He held out a small disk. "It's all on here. It's too much for me to talk about all at once, so I'll just give you this."

"Did the squads actually see anyone?"

Reeve looked reluctant to answer. Then... "Yes."

"Who?" she asked, gently taking the disk from him.

"I... don't really know him personally. However, he was in Shinra while I was still the head of Urban Development. He was Professor Hojo's direct subordinate. His right-hand man, if you will."

She closed her eyes. "Professor Aeon," she murmured.

"Dmitri Aeon, head of the lesser known Chemical Research branch. He played a big part in the SOLDIER experiments' earlier stages, and went on to pursue a project of his own, one Hojo approved of and worked on when he had the time available to him."

"I've heard rumors of this second project. If successful, it was supposed to produce beings stronger than even a SOLDIER First Class of Sephiroth's abilities. But it never worked properly."

"I guess he's never given it up, though. Maybe he's found a breakthrough in Midgar Underground."

Shelke rose from her seat slowly. "If I may perform an SND before Yuffie and I leave for Midgar, I'd like to pull up what I can about this second project of his."

"I'd rather you not waste any time here when he's doing who-knows-what there."

"But--" she began, cut off by him raising a hand to silence her.

"I'll put someone on it. Unfortunately, all the pertinent files are in the old Shinra database. Most of the computers with access to the Shinra database have been either destroyed or rendered useless. I don't think even an SND would grant you access to the Shinra database from here."

She turned to give him a sharp look. "Don't underestimate an SND's abilities," she said coolly. "You'd be surprised what an SND can turn up."

He pondered saying something, but decided against it. "Fair enough. When you and Yuffie return, an SND will be in order. We must learn as much as possible about Dmitri Aeon's activity in Midgar Underground and his reasons behind it."

"Suppose we spot him ourselves?" she offered.

"Don't even think of engaging him. Remember, Hojo performed parts of the JENOVA Project on himself. It's highly likely that Dmitri's done the same in regards to his own project. If this is the case, you two might be in over your heads trying to confront him on your own. Even if," he added quickly, cutting off her protests, "he decided to cooperate and tell you everything, it's not worth the risk of losing the two of you. You're just to observe him for now, see what he's up to."

"Understood." She bowed her head to him. "Then we shouldn't waste any more time here. We'll be on our way to Midgar."

"Shelke."

She stopped at the door and turned to face him slowly. "Yes?"

"Be careful. Both of you."

She smiled at him. "Since when have we given reason for you to ever think we're in danger?" she said, stepping outside his office.

He chuckled as the door closed behind her. "True."

* * *

_'Wait, what's this new guy got to do with anything?' You'll find out._

_So sorry about the delay in updating. I've been exceedingly busy lately, and as it is, I've had next to no time to work on this. I'm just barely starting Chapter 8, truthfully; yes, I'm that busy. Normally I'd be ahead by about three or four chapters, but..._

_So, for those of you who still haven't picked up on what the crystal Lizu used does, it's quite simple; in a nutshell, it possessed her. As was proven, she can break the control, but it's practically impossible for her to do under normal circumstances. Her body needs to be tired, her mind racing. Yes, Lizu's evil, and so is Sephiroth. Yes, this crystal is evil. Big deal; I've already got the idea for how to deal with it._

_I like how this story's turning out, but I've said that a few times already. Of course, I'm the author, so... My view on it is slightly skewed, right? It's a shame I haven't had much time to write more for anything, but hey, a guy needs to work. Maybe I was better off working mornings... But then again, I'm not much of a morning person... Oh, dilemma, dilemma._

_Next chapter introduces a new OC (at least, to you guys and gals, she'll be new; to me, she's an OC I was going to use for other purposes). Her appearance and attitude were all carefully thought out, but her role in this story is... on-the-spot. I'm not a big fan of 'on-the-spot characters', but hey, Lizu's turned out well, right? She was definitely 'on-the-spot'._

_And for the record, no, Dmitri Aeon is NOT an 'on-the spot' character. He, like the new character next chapter, was carefully thought out beforehand. His way of thinking rivals Hojo's. I'll leave it at that._

_Think I'll put up the next chapter; I keep going with it, it'll get too long. -Spiritslayer_


	8. Staying the Light

It had been two weeks since Tifa had found herself incapable of controlling her body. Vincent had since returned to Edge and told everyone what had happened.

"And you left her alone?!" Cloud asked incredulously.

Vincent had told Cloud last for, more or less, this precise reason. He and the swordsman were sitting in the WRO Headquarters cafeteria, talking over lunch.

"Would you rather have had me chase after her and risk dying?" Vincent responded.

"I... well..." Cloud groaned. "Not really."

Vincent nodded. "My thoughts exactly. I'm not giving up on her by any right; I just need to find some way to help her out. Following her without this knowledge is also called 'suicide'. She did a number on me the morning she left."

_**You can say that again.**_

Cloud crossed his arms, sighing softly. "Tifa..." he murmured.

"..." Vincent wasn't sure what to say now, and settled for continuing to eat.

"...We have no idea where she went, do we?" Cloud asked.

"None whatsoever. But, my instinct revolving around Tifa's been pretty good before."

"True. You know..." The swordsman took a slow drink from his glass of liquor. "This is almost the same as three and a half years ago. She's gone missing without a trace again, and once again, we have to leave it to you to find her."

"But it's different this time. Last time, she went to places that brought her comfort. Then she went to places that reminded her of me, I guess. This time, though, she's seeking to keep me safe from whatever's possessed her. She won't be in any obvious places like Shinra Manor or Nibelheim, that much I can pretty much guarantee."

Cloud's eyes flicked momentarily to a woman who was approaching both of them.

"Cloud Strife and Vincent Valentine?" she asked nervously. "Manna Azurelight. Reeve -- I mean, the commissioner has asked me to find the two of you. He says he has a task for the two of you."

Cloud gave Manna a small nod of acknowledgment. "Alright then. We'll be right there."

Vincent could've almost sworn Cloud was checking Manna out, but let it slide all the same. "Any ideas what it's in regards to?" he asked her.

She shook her head, her black hair swaying as she did. Both of them noticed faint azure blue highlights in her hair. "He had said it has something to do with Yuffie Kisaragi and Shelke Rui's latest mission, but he didn't go further than that." Her blue eyes met Cloud's.

None of them were expecting Cloud to blush slightly and look away, but Manna either didn't notice or pretended not to notice. Vincent found it amusing.

"Well then, we should get going," Cloud said, clearing his throat and standing. "Don't want to keep him waiting."

Manna nodded, watching as the two of them stood. "He's in his office right now. Yuffie and Shelke are there as well."

"You mean we have to deal with Yuffie's immaturity?" Cloud sighed. "This isn't going to end well, I can almost feel it."

Manna giggled, nodding in agreement. "She is rather immature for twenty years old, but she's one of the better members we have."

"'We'?" Cloud said, an eyebrow raised. "You mean you're WRO too?"

"Yeah. I'm part of the Investigations Branch. Of course, I'm new to the WRO and all, but I'm still doing good so far."

Cloud and Manna began talking, leaving Vincent to his thoughts, or rather, to discuss with the Galian all of Tifa's possible locations.

They arrived at Reeve's office a short while later. Manna scanned her identification card and it pinged green. She pulled the door open, allowing Cloud and Vincent to walk in before her.

Reeve was looking at both of them, as were Yuffie and Shelke. "Thank you, Manna."

"My pleasure, commissioner." She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "You wanted to see me as well?"

He only nodded, indicating the three extra chairs he had set up in his office. "Soon as you three sit down, I can brief you on your mission."

"Reeve," Vincent said slowly. "Have you had any luck finding...?"

He shook his head. "No, sorry. She's still missing."

Manna sat down, Cloud taking the seat next to her. Vincent remained standing.

"Vincent?" Reeve asked, glancing to the empty chair.

"I'll stand," he said simply.

"Very well." He leaned back slightly in his own chair. "Yuffie and Shelke have been investigating activity in Midgar. Lately, there have been confirmed reports of activity in Midgar Underground. No," he added quickly, "it's not Deepground. But it is Shinra all the same."

Shelke took over. "Does the name Dmitri Aeon mean anything to any of you three?"

Cloud and Manna shook their heads, but Vincent gave a slow, grave nod. "He was head of the Chemical Research division in Shinra. His division was a part of Hojo's entire department, and as such he knew Hojo very well. They worked on the JENOVA Project together."

Reeve nodded. "I more or less thought maybe you knew of him, but wasn't sure. We have confirmed that Dmitri is exploring Midgar Underground, as though looking for something. We've looked into it, but found nothing."

"Nothing, that is, until I performed a Synaptic Net Dive. I managed to gain access to the Shinra database from here, to learn what I could of Professor Aeon." Shelke held up a small stack of papers. "These papers are all the information pertaining to his own, unique project. He never had any recorded success with it, so one could assume he's still pursuing it."

Cloud reached out to take the papers, but Vincent was too fast for the swordsman. He claimed the papers and began skimming them. His eyes narrowed as he began reading one page.

"Project Slayer?" he said. "I thought he abandoned that years and years ago."

"You know of Project Slayer?" Reeve asked incredulously.

Vincent nodded, handing the papers to Cloud so he could read them. "All I know was that it was a project Aeon was working on in conjunction with the JENOVA Project. But, given the amount of success they both had with the JENOVA Project, the official report was that Aeon ceased all work on Project Slayer. I guess it was false."

"So, with this info, we've decided it's time to confront this guy," Yuffie said, finally finding a way to get a word in edgewise. "None of the papers state that he had success, but how old are those papers? Who knows, maybe he got it right somewhere and that's why he's working on it again."

Reeve gave Yuffie a nod. "Quite to the point. That's the mission I'm assigning the five of you. Locate and detain Professor Dmitri Aeon and bring him back here. We have to assume he won't give up without a fight, so take any and all necessary precautions."

Manna shifted slightly. "Why do I have to... well, go along?"

"We feel it's best if the one who will be interrogating him goes along to detain him. This way, he knows the interrogator, to some extent." Reeve looked to all five of them. "Questions?"

"About Lizu," Vincent began, but Reeve cut him off.

"We're doing all we can to locate her, as well as Tifa. We think that wherever Lizu is, Tifa is. But we don't know exactly who Lizu is, so it's tough to guess where she'd turn up."

"She..." Vincent had told them what became of Tifa and who Lizu was, but he had never actually said that Sephiroth was still alive. He hesitated, then shook his head. "Never mind."

Reeve gave him a questioning look, but didn't push it further. "I'd prefer if the five of you began this mission either today or tomorrow. The WRO squads keeping an eye out on Midgar have said he's entered Midgar and that he hasn't left yet. We can safely assume he'll be in there for at least a couple days, including today."

Cloud cleared his throat slightly. "Why include me?"

Reeve looked slightly irritated that two of the five had already asked why they were going. "I feel as though Yuffie and Shelke could get all the help they can get in detaining Dmitri. Everyone else is busy and Tifa's missing. Really, you two were the only ones that could help."

Cloud opened his mouth to speak again, but Manna gave him a small punch in the shoulder, as though to tell him 'Knock it off'.

"Yuffie and I are ready to go whenever you three are," Shelke said. "We'll meet up outside the headquarters in a half hour, agreed?"

They all nodded.

"Then, I'll wish you five luck," Reeve said. "That's all for this meeting. Dismissed."

Yuffie, Shelke, Cloud and Manna all stood and filed out one by one. Vincent, however, hung back. "Reeve."

"Yes?"

Vincent closed the door, then turned to face Reeve once more. "About Project Slayer. It was undocumented in the past, but he actually did have some degree of success with it."

Reeve's eyes widened. "You mean..."

"His project's goal was to create a being whose strength could surpass even that of Sephiroth's. With this in mind, he had the idea for this project after Sephiroth had proven himself. He had never actually succeeded in creating a being stronger than Sephiroth."

"But you said he had some degree of success," Reeve said slowly, obviously confused.

"He created a SOLDIER First Class whose strength and abilities were roughly equivalent to Sephiroth's through Project Slayer. He branded her a failure, though, seeing whereas she wasn't better than Sephiroth was. She was his equal, but Aeon wanted more than an 'equal'."

"And... is 'she' Lizu?" Reeve asked uncertainly.

Vincent fought the urge to laugh. "I doubt it. She told the Galian that she was one of the original specimens in the JENOVA Project."

"Then... who could be...?"

Vincent turned to the door. "I have a question about Manna Azurelight. How old is she?"

"How old is...? She's... twenty-seven, if memory serves right." Reeve looked at Vincent's back. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious." He opened the door and left a very confused Reeve sitting behind his desk.

--

"So, I've done what I can," could be faintly heard from the top of WRO Headquarters.

The two guards stationed outside the main entrance looked around for the source of the voice. "Did you hear that?" one asked his partner.

"Yeah. Sounded like someone said 'I've done what I can'." They both continued looking around.

Lizu was watching amusedly from the roof. "Now what?" she asked her staff quietly. "Should I begin?"

"Not yet. Allow them a week. Her absence will eventually crack all of them. That will be when we -- no, you strike."

She grinned, holding her staff close. "Just a week. Unless they uncover the crystal's weakness, they're all doomed. And even then, they have to find Valentine's guide."

Sephiroth chuckled. "You're excited."

"Of course I am." She watched as the guards began scanning up toward the roof. "If they find me here, do you suppose I could... have a little fun with WRO?"

"I think so. Leave the 'heroes of Meteorfall' alone, however. Spare them for a week. If anything, assaulting this building will add to their newfound tensions, and generate chaos within the ranks much faster."

Lizu stood by the edge, waiting for the guards to find her there. "I could do with the fun," she said, laughing slightly.

The first guard noticed the glint of sunlight off a metallic object on the roof. "Hey, something's up there," he told his partner.

"From my angle, it's more like some_one_." He raised his rifle, aiming at her. "Identify yourself!" he shouted.

Lizu grinned. "Oh damn. They found me." She rose her staff and twirled it for a moment, looking down at them. "My name's Lizu," she responded.

"Lizu? Never heard of you," the other said. "Stay up there, or we'll shoot!" He reached for his com unit.

"Hm... and if I don't listen?" she mused.

Both cocked their rifles. "You better listen!"

"Oh, I better, huh?" She leapt from the roof and landed betweeen them, crouched low to the ground, staff parallel to the ground, poised over her back. "And what if I come down here?" she asked.

Their rifles were trained on her.

"No answer? Alright then," she said, suddenly lashing out. The staff's sharp edges slashed through them, opening deep wounds in their stomach area. They began to open fire, but Lizu had already maneuvered out of their aim. The orb of her staff was glowing a fierce red. "What say you we have a little fun?"

They clutched their stomachs. One trained his rifle on her while the other dropped his rifle and seized his com unit to call for reinforcements.

She listened as he did, and watched as more filed out of the headquarters. Most were surprised to see she bore a likeness to Sephiroth and many called her such.

The staff's orb was almost blazing with fire now. "My name is Lizu," she said calmly. "Remember that... for the afterlife!" she finished, releasing the fiery blast she had been charging.

It flew into the crowd of soldiers and exploded. Those that didn't die instantly were engulfed in flames. Shrieks and screams were heard, but the most notable noise was Lizu's laughter.

"So weak!" she jeered, charging forward, staff swinging to slash through those who were only warmed by the explosion. "This is why you're being knocked down so easily!"

A flash of purple erupted, but she was more or less expecting it this time. She managed to dodge it and grinned at the Galian now standing before her. "Well, well. If it isn't my old friend," she said mockingly. "I trust you've made a full recovery to be facing me again?"

_**"Don't you wish. No, I supposed this was the only way to actually ward you off."**_ The demon flexed its claws, fangs bared._** "Now leave before I'm forced to kill you."**_

"You? Kill me? Hah, you're welcome to try," she said, slashing through the soldiers that attempted to knock her down during her conversation. "What do you think? Clear the useless rabble out of the way so we can fight unhindered?"

Her insult to the WRO soldiers found more of them rushing her recklessly, mostly out of anger. She took joy in slaying most of them while seriously wounding the rest.

The Galian snarled, rearing its head back. _**"This time, I don't have to worry about letting someone sleep!"**_ it roared, focusing massive burst of demonfire into its mouth.

"Same here. This means I can go all out." She glanced for a split second at the orb. "I won't even need to rely on him for this fight."

The demon replied with a fully charged Beast Flare. Each burst flew at Lizu, who laughed.

"Oh please. Small fireballs? You underestimate me." She twirled her staff rapidly and deflected each blast, sending them all soaring into the side of the building. The resulting explosions were pleasing to her. "So, with your only magical attack useless, you're down to fangs and claws."

_**"All I need to kill you," **_the demon roared, charging her quickly.

She leapt back, focusing ice magics into her staff. "You're fire-based, no?" she said calmly. "Let's see... if you can catch me before I finish charging this attack, you might live to see another day."

The Galian identified the magics wrapping around her staff as ice-based and increased its efforts to slash into her. She continued dodging deftly, laughing at the demon. It growled at her, raising the intensity of it until it was roaring again. _**"Now!"**_ it shouted.

A blonde swordsman leapt from the crowd spilling out of the headquarters and landed behind Lizu, sword at the ready. "So, you must be the 'Lizu' we've heard so much about," he said, wheeling on the spot to slice into her.

She wasn't expecting the sudden addition to the fight, but managed to dodge the fatal parts of the attack. His sword managed to inflict a shallow cut into her abdomen. She gave a small grunt of discomfort, but largely ignored the attack; it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

It wasn't until she blocked Cloud Strife's next attack that she noticed, out the corner of her eye, a giant shuriken flying straight at her. She smirked, leaping back to dodge the projectile.

When she dodged, however, she didn't know until it was too late that she was backing into a sudden jolt of electricity. She looked behind her and saw nothing, but felt the shocks all the same. She gritted her teeth and leapt away, landing between the Galian, Cloud Strife, Yuffie Kisaragi, who was now recovering her shuriken, and...

A figure she never saw before appeared out of nowhere, dual sabers in hand, each one crackling with electricity. "What have you done to Tifa Lockheart?" she asked calmly, eyes glaring at Lizu.

* * *

_I said I'd put this up, so I did._

_Manna Azurelight. Originally supposed to be a native of Gongaga who moved to Junon, then Midgar. Supposed to have killed her 'parents' at age twelve and labeled 'exceptionally dangerous'. Sniper by nature, not exceptional at face-to-face combat. Eventually finds herself fighting against Shinra up through the events of FFVII, where after Meteorfall, she lived peacefully with the man she had come to call her soul mate in Junon._

_That was the original character concept, but it didn't exactly fit well in this story. Granted, it'll remain her original storyline, and who knows? Maybe I'll write a story involving this actual background to her in time. Truthfully, there are four other OCs that go with Manna, and they're all a former 'gang', as it were. They weren't exactly a 'gang', but more a close-knit group of friends that fought for each other, each with their own convictions. The vigilante caster, the crude swordsman, the silent sniper, the enigmatic wizard, and... the pacifist. That was the original idea, and the more I think about it... I might put up each of the other four in later A.N.s for other chapters. You've more or less got Manna's already, and of that group of five, she's the 'silent sniper'. It pains me to put her into a completely different character concept; that is, make her more talkative (original concept, she wasn't much for words, except with her soul mate), take away her tragic past (she was brought to Junon from Gongaga for trial, and somehow went free; adopted a sniper rifle and began murdering wanted criminals mercilessly, gaining the gradual title of 'Azure Judge', owing largely to her color favoritism of azure). Also, she was never actually meant to be in an organization, choosing instead to remain a free spirit, acting as she saw fit._

_Man oh man, amazing how I can screw up an OC, ain't it?_

_So yeah. I've begun work on Chapter 9, and it's going rather well. Might get to Chapter 10 at this rate, and that's before the night's out. Gods, it feels so good to have a couple consecutive days off. I'll probably put up Chapter 9 to make up for the lack of updates a little later, too. If I do, I'll introduce you to the 'vigilante caster' in the group of five. Bit of random trivia? He's the original owner of Lizu's Spiked Crescent (!!). I'll leave it at that. -Spiritslayer_


	9. Mysterious Glint

"Me? Do something to Tifa Lockheart?" Lizu laughed. "Oh please. You must have the wrong person."

The Galian rushed her, claws outstretched. _**"Don't act the fool, remnant!"**_

She turned to glare at the demon, slamming the staff against it. A bluish light erupted, engulfing the demon in a block of ice, rendering it immobile for a while. "I've already said I'm not a remnant," she said coolly, twirling her staff casually.

Cloud took her back, running as quietly as he could. The tip of his sword, however, scraped on the ground.

She heard him running and turned her head slightly to face him, leaping high into the air to dodge his attack. She slashed her staff down his back, sending him flying, blood spraying from his new wound. "Coward," she sneered.

Yuffie appeared before her. "Then how about a straight-up fight?" she demanded, brandishing her shuriken.

Lizu smirked. "Either way, you can't win against me."

Yuffie reared her arm back and hurled the shuriken at Lizu, eyes fixed on the enemy before her. "Wanna bet?"

Lizu waited for the right moment, raising her staff into the air. She watched the shuriken intently, then brought the staff down quickly.

The bottom found its way into the hole in the center of the shuriken, pinning it to the ground. "Idiot. It's amazing you three managed to defeat Sephiroth four years ago." She lifted her staff up and gave the shuriken a small spin. She increased the spin velocity of it and drew the staff back, letting it fly at Yuffie after some time.

She heard the crackling of electricity behind her and spun around, bringing the staff's tip along with her. It slashed into air, but blood sprayed slightly. She heard the figure gasp in surprise, her transparency fading all at once.

Lizu looked at the frozen Galian, at Cloud, who was standing slowly, trying to nurse the wound on his back without exposing weakness, then at the mysterious figure with the dual sabers, who had sheathed one saber and was holding her abdomen with her free hand. "None of you are worth my time," she said stiffly, twirling her staff once more, apparently enjoying herself.

Yuffie's shuriken flew at Lizu once more, and she was caught off guard. The weapon slashed into Lizu's left arm, slackening her grip on the Spiked Crescent. The ninja caught her weapon and glared at Lizu. "Hey, next time you want to use my weapon against me, try just plunging it at me!" she said mockingly. "I've trained to catch it when thrown, you damned bitch!"

Lizu grabbed the staff with her right hand, placing her left arm behind her back. "Oh, _I'm _a bitch, huh? How about you? You, who took the one I love most from me four years ago." She twirled her staff somewhat clumsily, not used to wielding it in her right hand. "What have I done to you that makes me a bitch?"

Yuffie gritted her teeth, gripping her shuriken tightly. "You've taken Tifa from us. You've done something to her, and she has to hide so we don't risk dying. _That_ is what makes you a bitch." She pulled her arm back, ready to throw the shuriken again.

Lizu chuckled. "So, my depriving you of someone with a weak spirit is worse than you _killing_ my greatest love? Sounds almost pathetic." She gripped her staff tight, ceasing its twirl. She drew it back and rushed at Yuffie. "No, I'm not a bitch. You are, and there's no denying it. Now, suppose I killed your father. Then I'd be one, too."

Yuffie brought her shuriken to block the staff's swing. "You leave my father out of this," she hissed.

Lizu grinned. "Got you," she said quietly, throwing the staff at Yuffie.

The ninja staggered as the staff impaled her shoulder. She gasped, the shuriken dropping from her hand. "W... what was..." she began.

Lizu firmly planted her foot on Yuffie's other shoulder and seized her staff, wrenching it as roughly as she could from the ninja's shoulder. "So," she said calmly, shoving Yuffie to the ground with her foot. She positioned the staff over the ninja's neck, blades mere inches from her neck. "Suppose I decided to make the decisive swing."

Yuffie could've sworn her life was flashing before her eyes. She scoffed. "Do it, then."

"_Do not forget, Lizu. Spare them for now,_" rang Sephiroth's voice.

The other three heard the voice, chills running up and down their spines. Cloud got to his feet slowly, eyes wide in fear. "There's... no way in hell... It's impossible... He's..."

Darkness surrounded all of them, and the very image of Sephiroth replaced the staff. "_Oh, it's not impossible, Cloud. Quite the contrary, it's very much so realistic._"

Cloud went to seize his sword, but found that in this world of utter darkness, no weapons existed. Yuffie's shuriken was gone, Shelke was searching frantically for her sabers. They all noticed that even Lizu didn't have her staff. "How is... this even possible? You're dead!" he shouted.

"_I'm still very much so alive, Cloud. You may have destroyed my body, but as long as my spirit remains intact, you cannot kill me._"

The ice around the Galian melted away, freeing the now hypothermic demon. The demon snarled at Sephiroth's image. _**"You again. I don't suppose you find it necessary to join this fight?"**_

"_Of course not. She's doing well enough on her own. Although..._" The world of darkness vanished, revealing weapons once more, staff in Lizu's right hand, shuriken on the ground next to Yuffie, sabers back on Shelke's person, Cloud's sword on the ground next to him. "_I suppose I can give a decisive blow, just this once._" The orb of Lizu's staff glowed a violent green color, intensifying in brightness rapidly. The orb flashed multiple times, and Lizu knew instinctively what to do, what spell it was. She drew the staff over her shoulder, smirking.

"Ultima," she murmured, waving the staff in front of her.

The spell fired off properly, engulfing the four in non-elemental magic. All four of them cried out in pain, and when the spell itself finished, they were all laying on the ground. The Galian had vanished, leaving Vincent to stand slowly, more or less unaffected by it. He drew his gun and aimed at Lizu.

"Heh," she chuckled. "So the demon's host thinks he can beat me?"

Vincent pulled the trigger.

The bullet connected with a barrier Sephiroth himself put up, and the bullet ricocheted into Vincent's right shoulder. As Vincent clutched at his shoulder, Lizu smirked. "You don't have what it takes to beat me when I fight at full strength. Give it up, and I'll let you live another day. Keep this up, though, and I'll kill one of you." Her eyes flicked to Shelke, knowing she wasn't one of the 'heroes of Meteorfall'. "I already have my target picked out."

Vincent leveled the gun's barrel with Lizu once more. "You try it, and I'll blow your head clean off," he growled, finger twitching over the trigger.

Lizu took a slow step toward Shelke, staff raised over her shoulder. "There's nothing you can do, not with my love's barrier up," she replied coolly. "Though, you're welcome to try breaking through it."

Shelke realized she was the target and struggled to activate her transparency. She also struggled to stand up, to get ready to move as soon as it activated. She stood, her transparency flickering into effect. She vanished from view.

"Oh please, like you can hide from me," Lizu sighed, channeling lightning magic into her staff's orb. "Let's see how well you hide from this," she added, flinging the Bolt3 spell she prepared skyward.

A large lightning bolt descended, crashing down on Shelke's invisible figure, disabling her transparency. The former Tsviet cringed, fighting the urge to cry out, and collapsed, out cold.

Lizu began laughing maniacally, twirling her staff once again in her right hand. She found it amusing that Vincent was firing repeatedly at her, each bullet reflecting off the barrier around her. Five of the fifteen he shot at her struck him instead, but he ignored it. She looked around as he reloaded, and smirked. "I've caused enough mayhem for the day," she sighed. "Time for me to go." She urged the orb to emit a blinding light, and made her escape in the time it allotted her.

By the time Vincent finished reloading, she was gone. He looked at Cloud, who was glaring at the spot she was last standing. He looked at Yuffie, who was looking skyward, trying to ignore the throbbing in her right shoulder. He looked at Shelke, who was out cold, no doubt severely wounded. _She beat us thoroughly,_ he thought bitterly.

The Galian didn't reply. And for that matter, Vincent couldn't sense the demon either.

_Galian?_

--

She got a safe distance away before deciding to fuss over the wound on her left arm. She growled softly, angry that she was wounded at all. "Damn that bitch," she murmured, positioning the staff over her arm.

"You did better this time. I suppose this is because you didn't have to try keeping someone asleep," Sephiroth said.

"Of course." She gave a small sigh. "Why did you reveal that you were still alive?"

"Valentine knew, and yet he apparently failed to mention this. Knowing that, Cloud will be enraged at him, and he'll tell everyone else. That, too, will throw their team into disarray, and make the task in a week much easier to complete."

"A week? Oh, that's right. A week, and all will be over." She gave a small smile. "With luck, that girl is dead. If not, that's fine too. It's not like she can do anything about it."

"In a week, all will end. We will win this fight, my dear. There's no one who can even hope to stop us now."

--

"So, if I combine this current of pure Lifestream to Mako, the condensed version of the Lifestream..." A man was muttering to himself, studying his latest discovery. He gave his short brown hair a frustrated ruffle, his piercing green eyes fixed on the computer display before him. His hand dropped from his hair and rested on the grip of his weapon of choice, a sawed off shotgun. His white lab coat was opened to reveal a solid dark blue shirt over brown slacks. "This is certainly vexing..."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" said a young woman standing next to him.

He gave her a glance, examined her features for a few moments. He examined her black hair, red highlights streaked throughout. Her Mako blue eyes were fixed with his once he locked eyes with her. He looked back at the display and shook his head. "Not really," he muttered. "Go stand guard or something, I guess. I'll figure this out in time." He sighed, obviously frustrated. "I'm only missing one vital part. One hurdle away from the goal."

"And what part would that be?" she asked him, clasping her hands behind her back. Her right hand bumped against the handle of her right tonfa.

"If I knew what part was missing, I wouldn't be pondering it. Besides, I highly doubt _you'd_ know," he snapped, giving her a venomous glare. "What do you know about the Lifestream and Mako, other than it made you who you are?"

She looked away slowly, choosing to reply with "Nothing much, really."

"Precisely. Now be silent and allow me to work." He focused on the display once more, frowning now. "I thought I said go stand guard."

She bowed her head to him. "I apologize, professor." She went to leave, but was stopped by a sudden gasp from the man.

"No, wait right there." He examined the display carefully, as though he had seen something he had missed in the multiple times he had seen it already. "I suppose you can be somewhat useful to me after all. It may be difficult to locate, but if you can, it might be easy to retrieve." He turned to face her, grinning. "I require a DNA sample of the nightmare himself."

"Sephiroth?" she asked, not displaying her surprise. "But why, sir?"

"By studying the DNA of the greatest SOLDIER First Class to live, by studying the effects the Mako in his system had on his body..." His voice trailed as he lost himself in thought.

"I think I know the perfect place to find such a sample," she said slowly. "The Northern Crater, where the original Sephiroth was allegedly located. No doubt his DNA is imbued into the crystal he spent so long trapped inside."

"Good, good. That works perfectly." He waved a hand as though shooing her away. "Go get me a piece of crystal about the size of your torso, Raenya. If I'm not mistaken, that crystal itself is more or less materia in its own right."

She nodded. "It is a crystal born of the Lifestream. The root formation it was suspended from is actually a Mako fountain, just like the one in Mount Nibel. So yes, that crystal is materia."

"Then go fetch me a piece of that materia. Not only does it hold Sephiroth's DNA, we may find something practical to it."

Raenya nodded. "I shouldn't be more than a week, professor."

"You're a SOLDIER First Class, as strong and as smart as Sephiroth himself before he went mad. If it takes you a week, I'll know you're weakening."

"Forgive me. It shouldn't take me more than four days to recover a piece of this materia and bring it back to you. If you'll excuse me, then." She turned to leave, but hesitated. "Professor Aeon?"

"Mm?" He looked at her, annoyed that she was wasting time. "What's wrong now?"

"When you succeed in Project Slayer... will you need me anymore?"

He snorted. "Don't be absurd, Raenya. You've stood by me for years and years, acting almost as a wife to me. I'm not about to abandon you. No, even if I have success with Project Slayer, you'll still be at my side."

She smiled, glad she was facing away from him. She never showed him emotion directly. "Thank you, Dmitri."

"Mm. Now get going. That crystal -- materia -- isn't going to bring itself here."

She gave a nod, walking out of the room, leaving Dmitri Aeon alone to wonder to the secrets of the crystalline prison that once housed the real Sephiroth.

* * *

_The thought of the crystal in the Northern Crater being materia just came to me one day, and I thought 'what kind of materia would that be, I wonder?' The result of my conclusions is what's being written here. Again, the crystal/materia Lizu carries has two properties, one of which is possessing a target for a time. By implanting even a sliver of it, however, the possession is indefinite._

_You got your first glimpse of Dmitri Aeon in this chapter. He'll play a rather large role in the story as it progresses, as will Raenya, his SOLDIER First Class 'wife'. I'll leave whether he's a bad guy or good guy up to your imaginations; the way he was originated, though, he was a bad guy through and through._

_Let's see... I said I'd summarize the 'vigilante caster' in this chapter's A.N., so without further ado..._

_Vilius Aichi, better known as Vil. Born and raised in Costa del Sol, he grew up protecting the people of Costa del Sol with his staff, the Spiked Crescent. He eventually moved to Midgar, bent on joining Shinra. However, a public display of brutality, with Shinra on the aggressor's end, kicked his sense of justice into high gear. He protected the people of Midgar for as long as he could, even losing his left eye in the process. His death was confirmed six years before the events of Final Fantasy VII, although rumors have circulated of one black-haired man wearing a large cloak and a missing left eye protecting the people of the world with his magic..._

_This guy's an OC through and through. I play as Vil a lot in the Midgar sim in SecondLife, and for the record, yes, he has actually lost his left eye already. Oh, the crap I put him through... He's not dead yet, though._

_Think I'll put up the character bio for the 'enigmatic wizard' next. Just to go out of order. Usually, it'd be Vil, then the swordsman, then the pacifist, then the wizard, then Manna, then Dmitri. But, as the creator of five of these six (the pacifist, I got permission from to use as an OC in my fanfics), I felt it was perfectly fine._

_I think I'm starting to rant too much here. See you next chapter; maybe I'll put that up shortly as well... -Spiritslayer_


	10. Dying Faith, Renewed Hope

A week had passed since Lizu had defeated all four of them on her own. And Vincent's worst fear had been confirmed in that time frame.

No one took it kindly that he withheld the information of Sephiroth's survival, and they all shunned him because of it. Only Manna, who didn't know of the former general's fierce temperament first-hand, stood by Vincent.

"I don't blame you," she said to him quietly one day. "They wouldn't have believed you if you told them beforehand."

He shook his head. "I still should've mentioned it before she attacked. They would've at least apologized for doubting me. But now..."

_**Stop being so hard on yourself, Vincent,**_ the Galian said to him. _**You didn't even believe it, even after I fought him in her body.**_

She gave a small sigh, standing. She brushed her hair out of her face, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Vincent..." she murmured. "This will come to pass, you know it will. They'll realize they're making too big a deal over it, and they'll apologize and forgive you."

"Were it that easy," he replied. "But, knowing them, it's not going to be so simple. When I first joined with them, even Tifa, the woman I love, was skeptical about me. Even Tifa, who was so understanding of everyone. It was probably through her that the others accepted me. Without her now, though..."

Manna didn't know what to say. She lowered her hand from his shoulder. "Then... maybe I can help?" she offered.

"There's nothing you can do, Manna. I appreciate the thought, but it's not the same."

"No, I guess you're right." She sighed, pulling out her cell phone. "Tell you what. You ever need to talk to someone for anything, go ahead and give me a call."

"Won't be necessary," he said to her.

"But--"

He stood slowly. "Don't worry about it." He walked out the door, ready to meet with their newest captive. So far, he had been denied visitation rights, but he had a feeling he could work his way in this time.

Sure enough, he found himself outside the cell door of the prisoner he wanted to talk to. "Professor?" he said calmly.

"I recognize that voice," came the reply. The man stood and walked to the cell door, giving a lopsided smirk. "Ah, Valentine. It's been thirty-five years since we last saw one another."

"No thanks to that madman of a boss you worked for, I might add."

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from a man plagued by demons and nightmares?" Dmitri jeered.

"Project Slayer."

"Hm. I thought maybe you had forgotten about it over time. I guess not." He crossed his arms. "What do you want to know about it, and why should I tell you?"

"You tell me..." He lowered his voice. "And I'll break you out."

The professor chuckled. "Liar. Your loyalties to the WRO are too strong."

"Not anymore. Not after the events of the last week. Besides, Reeve wanted you captured for one reason or another. He knows things about Project Slayer that I apparently don't. Fill me in, and I'll help you escape."

"I do believe you're not bluffing," Dmitri said, smiling wryly. "Very well. What do you want to know about it?"

"The secret that divides success from failure. What is it?"

"I wondered that for a long time. Turns out materia with Sephiroth's DNA in it was the key to cracking the puzzle surrounding it. I was so close to completing the first massive experiment in Project Slayer, too, until I was captured by those punks."

"The first massive experiment? I thought you completed that years ago."

"With Raenya? No, my boy. She became SOLDIER First Class, the same strength and ability as Sephiroth. The difference is that she accepted how she was created. She didn't reject it and go insane like he did. No, I mean my first actual step into the project."

"Your first true success," Vincent said, understanding.

"Precisely. It turns out that I needed a piece of materia with power of cosmic proportions stored in it. In this case, Sephiroth's DNA."

"Where would this materia be?"

"The Northern Crater. Remember that large crystal he used to be trapped in?"

"That was materia?" Vincent asked in disbelief.

"Indeed. The roots above it were a Mako fountain. According to Raenya, who went to retrieve my sample of materia, the crystal had been shattered. She was still able to locate a piece the size of which I requested, however, so I thought nothing of it."

"Shattered?"

"It appeared as though it had been smashed with a blunt weapon, but there were signs that blades had also slashed through it. At least, that was her observation, and her observations are usually spot on."

"Sounds like a weapon I've seen before," he murmured, thoughts flicking to the Spiked Crescent Lizu used. "Do you know Lizu, by chance?"

"Ah, her. She was branded a failure in the JENOVA Project by Hojo, simply because she was female. Her abilities matched Sephiroth's, however, at least in the materia sense of it. Her melee combat isn't the best in the world, but it's usually enough to pull her through fights. I take it you've seen her recently, then."

Vincent relayed what happened in the last few weeks, and when he finished, Dmitri was frowning.

"You say Tifa Lockheart was affected by her somehow?" he murmured. "And her weapon... The Spiked Crescent, eh? I've heard things about that weapon. But enough of that. How was Tifa afflicted?"

"She... well, she lost control of her body, though she still held control over her mind. Her eyes also suggested she was fighting for control. Other than that, she was hostile towards me."

"Hm... a connection, perhaps...?" he murmured to himself.

Vincent looked at him expectantly.

"Perhaps it was indeed Lizu who took a piece of that materia from the Northern Crater. If that's the case, the whole world's in danger. Oh, rest assured," he added, seeing the look in Vincent's eyes. "It's nothing as big as Meteor. No, I had a chance to examine this materia before I was captured. It has two properties to it. The first property is possession. It'd fit, considering how Tifa was acting. Let's suppose, for a moment, that Lizu indeed used this materia on her. The materia itself would possess Tifa, and unless she had a will rivaling that of Sephiroth's or Raenya's, she couldn't regain control."

"And the second property?"

"Soul theft."

Vincent's eyes widened. "You don't mean..."

"Most people who use the materia use it to seal away the souls of those who are wicked. However, if one who is wicked gets a hold of it, they can seal souls of anyone. But for her to have the materia possess Tifa and to still have materia with her..." He snapped his fingers. "That's it! She must have cut a small sliver of it and used it on Tifa!"

"But wouldn't materia effects wear off after a while?"

"True. Unless..." He gave a wry smirk. "Unless it were implanted directly into someone..."

"You think Lizu implanted a sliver of this materia into Tifa?"

"It'd make the most sense to me."

Silence settled between them. "How would we remove it from her?" Vincent finally asked.

"Leave that to me once I'm out of here. Provided we can find her, we can remove it from her, bring her back to normal. That materia's possession ability isn't likely to outpower Raenya's own abilities, so if push comes to shove, we can just use her to detain Tifa." He clasped his hands behind his back. "This leaves the matter of Lizu and her larger piece of materia. No doubt she's plotting something, and I'm almost confident she meant to cause unrest in your ranks. I think she's succeeded too, so whatever she's planning may very well come to fruition soon. But she's always been impatient; no doubt she would've much rather preferred to just kill all of you instead of wait this long. She must have someone guiding her along."

"Sephiroth," Vincent said, the realization dawning on him. "Of course. He apparently lives, as a spirit, in her staff's orb. He protects her frequently with a barrier, and often fights alongside her as best he can from the staff. He's also possessed her once before and fought using her body. He returned control, though, when he finished fighting."

"It all makes sense now." Dmitri gave a few short nods. "He's held her in line, telling her what to do and what not to do. She's complied, fighting as they both saw fit. And when she focused on you and Tifa..."

"She must have been seeking to drive us apart, just as she did. With Tifa gone, we've all lost our central pillar of support. All it'd take is one bit of bad news to break us all down. And... When they found out that Sephiroth was still alive and that I knew..."

"That drove the entire crew apart," Dmitri finished. "With you all driven apart, she must be planning on using the materia's second property to make sure none of you can stand in her way. In Sephiroth's way."

"It's... certainly well thought out, and that we all fell for it..." He clenched his left claw. "Dammit! There's a good chance she'll strike soon, then! We can't waste any more time!" He drew his Cerberus and aimed it at the lock to Dmitri's door. "I need to get you out of here, then we need to find Tifa. After that, we need you to remove the materia from her system and then I need to get her back to our friends."

Dmitri nodded as Vincent shot the lock. The door creaked open, and Dmitri stepped out of the cell. "Well, you're certainly true to your word to a former enemy."

"Let's just say I need your help more than ever, and you needed my help escaping." He kept Cerberus drawn, and heard the alarms start going off. "Great."

"Help me find my shotgun, and we'll be better off," Dmitri said over the alarm. "Raenya wasn't captured, so I can call her once I retrieve my shotgun and phone. She can help us escape while you and I buy time fighting off the forces here."

"Sounds like a plan," Vincent said, watching the door open. Soldiers rushed in, and Vincent did what he never thought possible.

He shot the WRO members he had helped numerous times in the past, deciding it was for the greater good.

They eventually found Dmitri's shotgun, and he changed quickly, holstering the weapon at his side. He flipped open his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. He listened to it ring, then said "I'm at WRO Headquarters, making an escape. Help me out, and do _not_ attack Vincent Valentine. He's helping me escape." He hung up, and nodded to Vincent. "She'll be along shortly to help us; we were situated in Midgar Underground, so she's not more than an hour away from us."

"An hour?"

"SOLDIER First Class, Valentine. She's SOLDIER First Class."

"Right." He aimed at the nearest WRO soldier and shot. "I forgot about that."

"So," Dmitri said, whipping out his shotgun and shooting the nearest soldier, "what say you we try and get out of here on our own? Make life easier for Raenya?"

Vincent nodded. "Sounds fine. Let's go!"

Within a half hour, they were pinned down behind a bulletproof pane of glass. "So close to the exit," Dmitri sighed, reloading his shotgun casually. "Any ideas?"

Vincent was looking around slowly, Cerberus at the ready. "No. In this scenario, we're surrounded, though they can't catch us. A stalemate, if you will. The difference is that we'll eventually run out of ammunition."

"If Raenya gets here before we run out, we'll be fine."

A cry could be heard from the front door downstairs, and they both looked down at the exit. "That her?" Vincent asked.

The silver haired woman who walked in, staff in hand, answered the question for him. "Lizu," Dmitri breathed. "No doubt she's beginning to execute her plan."

"So she fights to remove souls?"

"Mm. While they're distracted with public enemy number one, we can probably escape." He stood slowly, shotgun still at the ready. "Let's go!"

Vincent complied, and they began sneaking as best they could for the exit.

Somehow, they made it without incident, and they got twenty-five yards from the headquarters when they heard someone call out to them. "Dmitri!"

Vincent saw a woman running toward them, twin tonfa in hand. Her black hair flowed behind her as she ran, and Vincent recognized the face. "Manna?" he asked incredulously.

"Manna? Are you insane, Valentine? This is Raenya."

Raenya looked at Vincent. "You know my sister?"

"Manna's your sister? Hm... Perhaps I've been wrong in my guessing all along..." he thought aloud.

"No time! We need to escape to Midgar Underground, now! Raenya, I'll be fine with Valentine! You need to track down Tifa Lockheart, and fast!"

"Understood," she said, running from them. "I'll contact you once I've located her!" she called back to them.

Dmitri nodded. "Now, it's up to her. Soon as she locates Tifa and brings her to us, we can begin our counterstrategy. Until then, though, we're practically sitting ducks." He nodded toward Midgar. "We should hurry out of here before Lizu realizes there are survivors outside."

Vincent nodded, beginning to sprint toward Midgar. Dmitri was close on his heels.

--

Lizu was laughing, observing the scene before her. No one was moving, all either dead or soulless.

All except Yuffie, Cloud, Shelke and a woman she didn't know.

"Well now, I half expected Valentine to be with you. But I suppose you shoved him aside? I bet you regret it dearly now, don't you?" she cackled.

Cloud drew his sword. "Even if we do, there's nothing we can do about it now. I doubt he'd help us, the way we treated him the last week." He narrowed his eyes. "So, was this your plan? Is this why you spared us a week ago?"

"Yes," she sneered. "It most certainly is. Cause unrest among the ranks, then defeat each of you one by one once all sense of teamwork is banished. It worked to perfection. First, I removed your pillar of support from you."

"Pillar of support?" Cloud rushed at Lizu. "You did that to Tifa for _that_?!"

She stabbed him in the stomach with her staff's tip, grinning. "Oh good, you know who your pillar is. Without her, though, you're all unstable." She pulled the materia from her pocket and held it in front of the swordsman's face. "I don't think I need to emphasize any further, seeing whereas you're no longer a threat."

"What're you babbling about?" he asked.

The materia flashed, and he was suddenly still. His body slowly fell to the floor, sword clattering to the floor.

"Cloud?" Yuffie asked uncertainly.

"By Hades..." Manna whispered. "You removed his soul...?"

"Yes, I did. Don't worry it, you'll follow shortly. After, of course..." She vanished from view and appeared in front of Yuffie. "Well, you're obviously next, hero of Meteorfall."

Manna watched as the materia flashed and Yuffie fell to the floor as well. She watched as Shelke flew into what seemed to be a rage. She watched as Lizu dodged Shelke effortlessly.

Then Manna ran away. She wasn't going to fall victim to Lizu's terror, even if it meant she had to abandon her friends.

She had to find Vincent, the only one who seemed to have a chance against Lizu.

* * *

_Ugh... it's raining outside, and I have to be somewhere later... This is NOT looking up for me..._

_So yeah, anyone surprised that Vincent took such drastic measures as betraying the WRO? I've always thought 'what if he turned against them, even if it were temporary insanity?' I figured this would do nicely; Dmitri, as I may have said, plays a rather large role in this story from here on out._

_Third OC summary, the 'enigmatic wizard'. No further ado..._

_William Harding Xenhart, better known as Will. He was born in Junon, raised in Junon. He grew up interested in books and other literary materials of the like, and has adopted a bit of a scholarly air to himself. He traveled to Midgar to gather research materials on slum life versus life on the upper plate, but stuck around when he heard someone was using the name 'William Xenhart' as their disguise name. He eventually uncovered the culprit to be none other than Vilius Aichi, whom he befriended rather quickly. In time, Will joined the group of friends, and lives in Junon after the events of Meteorfall. His sly smile and masterful way with words, paired with his unusual accent, make him someone you can hold an intelligent conversation with for hours on end. His magical prowess in combat is nothing to be underestimated, either; it's not unusual for him to end a fight with just one spell! When the topic of the dead Vilius Aichi comes up, however, he seems... sketchy..._

_If I use Will for a story, I might leave him as he is, with the only problem being that he and Manna practically make a team... Hm..._

_Next A.N., I'll put up the summary of the 'crude swordsman'._

_Next chapter, Vincent and Dmitri are safe from Lizu for now; what of Tifa, however? Can they hope to find her before Lizu does? And if Lizu finds her first, will she do to Tifa what she did to Cloud and Yuffie?_

_I can leave you hanging for a while, I guess. I'll update late tomorrow afternoon. -Spiritslayer_


	11. Calm During The Storm

"Made it," Dmitri heaved, resting his arm against the wall for support.

Vincent nodded, trying to catch his breath as well. He wasn't as winded as Dmitri, but it had been a while since he had last run like that. "I only hope everyone else is safe..." he muttered.

"Lizu was there. No one made it out alive, Valentine. Once she's set on something, she's unstoppable." He straightened up, looking around. "Home sweet home, at least for me."

"You live here," Vincent stated, chuckling. "Somehow, I can believe that."

The professor chuckled. "The sooner Raenya returns with Tifa, the better. In the meantime, we're safe. Lizu doesn't know I'm around. She won't think to look for you here, either, I can guarantee it."

"No doubt she'll go looking for Tifa, though."

"And if we find her first, it won't be an issue, right? No, Lizu won't come to Midgar Underground. I doubt she even knows of its existence, so we're safe here."

His phone rang, and he answered it. "Hello?"

Vincent began looking around, and his eyes fell on a computer. The screen was black, but he could tell it was on. He walked toward it and pressed a single key.

The screen lit up, and he examined the display. He eventually gave up, not understanding a bit of it.

"Raenya found Tifa."

"So Raenya knew right away where to find her?"

"No. She guessed, and her guesses are usually very good. Call it mastering intuition." He looked at the display. "You understand that?"

Vincent shook his head. "Not a bit of it."

"Good. It means that it's still written in only a way a Shinra scientist could understand." He moved to the computer and entered a few commands. It displayed a diagram, and Vincent understood this one to some extent.

"Mako and... pure Lifestream?" He looked at Dmitri. "Are you crazy?"

"It worked with Raenya. I was just missing the materia, though. With it, I think I can complete Project Slayer, or rather a solid experiment." He walked to a small filing cabinet and opened it. He reached in and procured a large chunk of crystal. "I think we have enough materia."

Vincent looked at it, then back at the display. "How do you plan on removing the materia from Tifa's body?"

"That's the thing," Dmitri sighed. "I need to inject her with trace amounts of Mako. It won't be enough to make her comatose, nor will it be enough to alter her permanently. However, the materia's repelled by Mako, so by injecting her with trace amounts, we focus the materia to one spot and can procure it that way."

"And she'll have those trace amounts in her for the rest of her life."

"I've developed a way to remove Mako from someone's system, but seeing whereas I prefer my own Mako injections as well as Raenya's, there's been no reason to use it."

Vincent sighed, closing his eyes. "If it's repelled by Mako..."

"The pure Lifestream current, when applied to Mako and the materia, will force the two to remain together. By infusing the subject with all three at once, their abilities and skills will, in theory, skyrocket to epic proportions. They'll acheive what Professor Hojo and I used to call 'Slayer status'. These Slayers are stronger than even Sephiroth, in theory."

"And if it fails?"

"It won't fail."

Vincent looked at Dmitri dubiously. "And what makes you so confident?"

"Years and years of research, my boy."

Dmitri's phone rang again, and he answered it. "Success?" He grinned. "Good. Bring her back here. See you shortly." He hung up. "She's knocked out Tifa, and she's bringing her back here."

"Knocked out?!" Vincent was suddenly furious.

"Tifa tried to kill Raenya. Safest way to bring her back, I think. Why're you so worked up about it, anyway?"

"Tifa's my fiancee."

Dmitri laughed. "Oh ho! So _that's_ why you were so worried about her! But don't worry, she'll be back to normal soon. Soon as Raenya gets back and I get my equipment set up." He gave a small bow of his head. "Excuse me; I just assume ready the equipment now." He left the room.

_**You trust this man?**_

_Right now, he's the only one I can trust._ He gave a silent sigh. _How're you faring?_

_**I've been better, but I'm fine. I don't want you relying on me for combat, though. Understood?**_

_Yes._

_**Vincent, Lizu must have succeeded in her plan by now. No doubt your friends are all soulless right now.**_

_She couldn't just kill them...?_

_**She wants them to suffer, I suppose. Trapping a soul inside materia leaves the soul alive. Killing the person would remove the soul too, but they'd no longer be alive.**_

_So she intends this as torture for them. I guess she sees it as fair punishment, considering how long she's been without Sephiroth._

_**One would think so. However, she's likely to realize you and Tifa are missing. As Aeon said, she won't think to look for you down here in Midgar Underground. However, this means you two shouldn't surface until time has passed. Wait for her to reach some place such as the Northern Crater. I doubt she'd have good reason to return there, but you never know with her.**_

Vincent gave a nod.

_**...Worrying that much isn't going to do you any good. Be grateful you escaped.**_

_I broke a prisoner out of prison. I shot WRO soldiers, killing some and wounding many others. I've done so many things wrong today, and I can't go back and correct any of them. I don't know if I can face them, even when this is all said and done._

_**It was for the greater good that you broke him out of prison. Isn't that what you told yourself earlier?**_

_I guess so. _He looked at the display again. _Such a risky procedure, but if all goes well..._

_**Raenya's the result of this procedure, don't forget. This is to make a SOLDIER First Class right off the bat. To be sure, it's tricky; I don't even want to know how long it took him to determine how much Mako he needed and how long it took him to realize he needs a current of pure Lifestream.**_

_Pure Lifestream... is there even such a thing here?_

_**Bottom of the reactor. That's not Mako.**_

_Oh, right._ He sat down, resting his head in his arms. _Why am I so tired?_

_**You ran a while. That will do it, I think. May as well rest; even when Tifa gets back and Aeon removes the materia from her, she'll likely be out for a day or two. We have nothing to fear down here.**_

_Yeah._ He closed his eyes, wishing sleep would overtake him.

It did.

--

"So, out cold, eh?" Dmitri said, examining Tifa. "Welcome back, Raenya."

"Thank you, Dmitri. And yes, she's out cold." She hoisted the martial artist upon the procedure table and helped the professor secure her down. "I trust you've gotten consent from Valentine?"

"Of course. He wants his fiancee back; he saved me from prison. This is the least I can do to repay him the debt." He finished strapping Tifa down and examined a small cylinder. The stuff inside glowed a light green. "Mako..." he said quietly. "It does so much to so many people." He lifted up the tube attached to the bottom of the cylinder and began setting it up.

With Raenya's help, Tifa soon had the Mako in the cylinder pumping into her body. She tried moving uncomfortably, but the restraints did their job; she wasn't capable of moving at all.

"Is that much Mako safe?"

"It is. It's exceptionally weak, and most of it will flush out of her system with the materia. That which remains will simply remain in her body, benign. Such trivial amounts of Mako aren't even worth flushing out of the system at that point. I suppose one upshot to having trace amounts of Mako inside is that her body's regeneration ability will increase in efficiency by about one and a half times what it is now. But no negative side effects."

Tifa stopped struggling and relaxed. A small light suddenly shone, and Dmitri watched as a shard of crystal rose from her chest. "Implanted in the heart, eh?" he chuckled, taking the materia shard gently. "Interesting. Lizu was leaving nothing to chance, I see. A shame Mako of this strength can't even begin harming her internal organs, or Lizu would have won this." He examined it and handed it to Raenya. "Clean this and store it. Tifa would, no doubt, like to keep that which possessed her for so long."

Raenya complied, taking it slowly and walking to clean it. "She's fine now?"

"She is. All that's left to do is collect the Mako that's about to come out of her system. He fetched a clean cylinder and prepared the apparatus it went with. "We're even, Valentine," he mused as he began gathering up the Mako waste.

--

_She watched as her corrupt self began beating on the gunner again. She tried clenching fists again, and suddenly found she could. She tried moving, and found she could._

_Was this a nightmare? No, it had to be a dream now._

_She rushed over to her corrupt self and knocked her away. She watched as the corrupt version of herself stood slowly and assumed a fighter's stance._

_She shook her head, and the figure gave a wry smirk. The mouth opened, but no words came._

_She knew, as she drove a fist into the doppelganger's gut, that the nightmare was over now._

_She was in control again._

--

"Done." Dmitri held up the cylinder of dull green fluid. "All she needs now is rest, which she's getting as I speak."

Raenya nodded. "Professor, you're not even with Valentine yet. He broke you out of prison. You saved his fiancee. It's not quite the same. You still owe him another favor."

He sighed. "I suppose this is true. We'll just have to see what he wishes of me, then. If done right, he may wind up owing _me_ a favor when all's said and done. But I suppose it's not necessity. He brought me back to my research. Now I can continue Project Slayer." He looked at Raenya. "Provided this is correct, would you like to become the first one to attain 'Slayer status'?"

"I have all the faith in the world, professor, that your deductions are correct. I would gladly become the first Slayer."

He gave a half smile. "You know... if this doesn't work, I lose you."

"...I know."

"I love you, you know that, right?"

"...I know. I love you, too, Dmitri." She looked at him almost sadly. "I'm nervous, to be honest. I trust in your deductions, but what if something goes wrong with the equipment?"

"Mm, I'm nervous about that too, but trust in me, and you'll be fine. I have a feeling I know what he wants me to do for him, and if I'm right, we'll need a Slayer, not a SOLDIER First Class."

"You think he wants you and me to help him and Tifa bring down Lizu and Sephiroth."

"Precisely."

Raenya gave a grave nod. "Let's... begin the experiment, Dmitri. I don't want to get cold feet further down the road; make me a Slayer before I change my mind."

He simply nodded, gesturing to the empty table next to Tifa. "Then let's begin."

--

She was panting as she rode the elevator down to Midgar Underground. She closed her eyes, leaning forward slightly. Her black hair fell in front of her eyes, the azure highlights appearing in her vision.

Manna had thought for sure she was a goner, but she realized that Shelke must have put up more of a fight than she first thought. And now she was going to Midgar Underground for some reason even she didn't know.

She watched the walls around the elevator rise as it descended. Perhaps she suspected it was safe down here. She also heard rumors that Vincent had broken Dmitri Aeon out of prison, and highly suspected that if they made it out of WRO Headquarters, they'd probably be here.

_No, they can't have made it. Lizu would've seen Vincent and that'd be the end of him. He's gone, too..._ She leaned her back against the central part of the elevator, watching as it continued to descend.

But she had to check. She had to make sure at least one friend made it out of WRO Headquarters alive and well.

She had to tell him it was all a plan on Lizu's part. A plan to strike back against the heroes of Meteorfall.

* * *

_So... How's everyone doing?_

_I must say it's interesting to finally get mixed reviews over a chapter. A bit of a relief, I may say. I got thinking that having Vincent betray the WRO would be a very interesting twist. And it's safe to say I was right. But, as noted in this chapter, he reflected upon it and regrets it._

_See, Vincent and Dmitri don't exactly have a great friendship; to be exact, they're enemies. And Vincent was bluffing at first, when he told Dmitri he'd break the scientist out of prison. But, as the conversation developed, he realized slowly that he needed someone stronger than Lizu and Sephiroth. He needed a Slayer, and to get that, he needed Dmitri. Hence, the breakout. Just thought I'd provide that little bit of info for those of you who still can't believe he'd do that to the WRO; he did it out of necessity in the fight against Lizu._

_Now, the 'crude swordsman' OC._

_Cyrus Aichi was born and raised in Nibelheim. At age fifteen, he took up swordsmanship, mainly for exercise. He was content with his life, even considering the job he held in the underground as an interrogator for a crime lord (he's done his parents proud), until he heard a rumor that he had a younger brother. He dismissed this as a mere taunt, but it eventually nagged at him; he had grown up under the pretense that he was an only child. He set off for Midgar, the place the rumor seemed to have spread from. In time, he joined Shinra in his parents' footsteps, and eventually found Vilius Aichi, his younger brother. After a very rocky beginning, Cyrus eventually befriended Vil and all of Vil's friends, though some doubted Cyrus' intentions. His quick tongue and sharp attitude, paired with his uncanny ability to exploit truths, made him his fair share of enemies, but those that didn't hate him for it quickly became his best friends. On the news of Vil's death, however, the group drifted apart, and Cyrus went back to Shinra, primarily to support the young daughter he had fathered. Rumors of his death are plentiful, but those who were his friends refuse to believe that he's dead and gone._

_...I realize I called him crude, and this summary might not make him seem as such, but then again, I understand his personality better than the summary could ever hope to convey. Trust me when I say he's crude; his words usually hurt people easily, and he doesn't care. One more OC to put up, and that's the pacifist, whom I do NOT own. As I've said before, I have permissions to use this OC in my stories if I ever feel the need to.  
_

_So yeah, I picked up The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind just earlier today. It's installing as I type, and I can't wait to play it; I love Oblivion, and I don't think Morrowind will disappoint either. And yes, the thought has crossed my mind that I'm playing the Elder Scrolls series in reverse; I'll get over it. We all will. I think._

_Next chapter, has Tifa actually gained control again? And what will Manna think when she runs into the first ever Slayer?_

_For those of you who are wondering what Lizu's up to during all this, don't panic; she'll make a reappearance in Chapter 13. And I must say I think what happens there will surprise some people, too!_

_Now, off to Vvardenfell with me. I shall see you all once I've had my fill of Morrowind. -Spiritslayer_


	12. Return of a Hero

Her eyes fluttered open slowly, and she sat up groggily. "Where am I...?" she murmured, looking around at her surroundings. She didn't recognize the place at all, and began feeling panicked.

"You're awake," she heard a man say.

Her head whirled to face the man who spoke. He was focused on another woman, one who was laying on the table next to her. She felt her blood boil. "What're you doing to Manna?!" she demanded.

"Manna? Oh no. This is her older sister, Raenya." He glanced over at her, then back at Raenya. "It's easy to confuse the two, considering they look a lot alike." He held up a small piece of crystal, and seemed to scrutinize it. "So, Tifa, how are you feeling?"

"How can you ask that so casually?!" she exclaimed, standing quickly. Her head spun, and she fell backward, landing on the table she had been sleeping on.

"Careful. Your procedure was successful, it'd seem, but you're likely to be disoriented for some time. Give it about ten to fifteen minutes longer; I wasn't expecting you to wake this soon."

"Procedure?! What've you done to me?!"

"How 'in control' of yourself are you right now?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Huh?" She slowly realized she was once again fully in control, and looked at him, baffled. "Who are you? How'd I regain control? What was wrong with me?"

"Full of questions, aren't you? If this procedure I'm performing on Raenya wasn't so delicate, I'd answer all of those and any more questions you may have." He jerked his head to the door. "Head out that door. Turn left down the corridor. About fifty paces down, you'll find a door in the wall to your right. Open that, and the man inside can answer most of the questions you may have. Although, saying my name is Dmitri Aeon won't harm anything here."

"And who is this man?"

"Someone you know. Ah, he may be asleep, the more I think about it. He was exhausted when we got here; I could see it in his eyes." He glanced up at her. "Well? Are those questions not important enough for you to ask him?"

She laid down on the table again. "I'll have to wait. You said it'd be ten to fifteen minutes before I was balanced again." She looked over at him. "What're you doing?"

He sighed, looking back at Raenya. "Stop asking me so many questions, will you? She means too much to me to mess up this procedure; I mess this up, I lose her for good."

Tifa gave a nod, watching in silence as he lifted up a piece of crystal. Question after question formed in her mind, but she held all of them back; she knew what it was like to be away from the one you love most for a long time.

A half hour later, he seemed to be finished, as he was putting things away.

"Are you done?" she asked.

"I am now. I'm amazed you're still here, to be honest." He put a cylinder full of a dull green substance down on a shelf labeled 'Waste'.

The contents struck a nerve in Tifa. "Mako?" she said quietly. "You used Mako in that procedure on her?"

"Mm, I did. She knew the risks well enough; she asked me to perform this procedure on her." He looked at her. "You, too, have Mako in your system, although it's not nearly enough to affect you in any adverse ways."

She was shocked, and stood quickly. "You did that to me without asking?" she seethed softly, clenching her fists.

"Next of kin gave me permission. In effect, it was the only way to remove this from your system," he added, holding up a small sliver of crystal.

"Next of kin? And what's that crystal?"

"Yes, next of kin. This crystal is actually a sliver of a very dangerous materia. Lizu implanted this inside your body, and the materia sliver possessed you. Surely you realized you weren't in control for the last three weeks?"

She was busy digesting this information, and sighed. "Explain it all to me. I don't know who Lizu is, I don't know what exactly that materia is. I don't know half of what's going on right now."

Dmitri spent the next twenty minutes explaining it out to her, and she asked questions as she felt necessary. "So, that's the story," he finished. "And that's how you got here, under my care."

"I see. So Vince is the man you were trying to send me off to fifty minutes ago?"

"He is indeed that man."

Tifa bowed her head. "Sorry I yelled at you, and sorry I badgered you like that. I'll leave you alone now and go to be with Vince."

"Not to worry, Lockheart. No doubt you were exceptionally confused upon waking."

She walked out of the room and turned left, looking down the corridor. _Fifty paces,_ she thought. She began counting them out, and stopped at the door to her right. She opened it slowly and looked inside, her heart soaring.

She recognized the crimson cloak, the raven-black hair. She noted Cerberus holstered at his side. She walked slowly toward Vincent, overjoyed to see him again, even if he was indeed asleep.

--

Manna looked around Midgar Underground. "Shit, I think I'm lost," she murmured. She looked behind her, then back in front. She frowned, placing her hands on her hips.

The reactor loomed before her, making her feel small. "This was it, right?" she said to herself uncertainly. She took a slow, careful step toward it, hoping she remembered correctly.

She didn't want to remain lost here. She wanted to find the area she had detained Dmitri Aeon in. And she was fairly sure he was inside the reactor.

--

Raenya's eyes opened slowly, falling on Dmitri. "Good..." she paused. "Is it morning, afternoon or evening?"

"Whichever you prefer, my dear." He turned to face her, smiling. "So it was a complete success. For now, rest; let the three components settle inside your body, fuse with it."

She nodded, turning her head to the table next to her. "She's awake?" she asked, noting it was empty.

"Tifa is fine. I've filled her in on what's happening, and she went to see Valentine." He sat in a chair next to Raenya. "She was rather insistent on getting me to explain everything while I was performing this procedure on you."

"And... Valentine?"

"Asleep, no doubt awake by now, though." He cracked a grin. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," she replied in a soft murmur. "So tired..."

"Then rest. I'll see you when you wake again."

She gave a small nod, closing her eyes. He watched as her breathing slowed, and he gave a small smile.

"It was a complete success," he murmured. "Project Slayer is successful at long last. I have the very first Slayer here." He clasped his hands behind his back, eyes shifting to the door as it slid open.

A woman very closely resembling Raenya was standing in the doorway, eyes on him. "Dmitri Aeon. So this means... Vince really did break you out..."

"Mm, he did." He gave a half-grin. "Manna Azurelight, I presume?"

--

Manna gave a small gasp, stepping backward a step. "We... we never introduced ourselves to you when we took you in. How do you...?" Her eyes flicked to the woman laying on the table. She took a slow step forward, then another. "She..."

"Is asleep. The procedure I just performed upon her is, no doubt, taxing on one's body." He looked at the woman on the table, then back up at Manna.

Manna examined the face, almost scrutinizing the woman on the table. She gasped audibly, staggering backward. Her eyes, narrowed, shot up to Dmitri's face. "What have you... what have you done to her?" she whispered.

"Project Slayer has met its first success," he replied simply. "And yes, she's the first Slayer produced this way."

Manna's hand shot to the handgun at her hip, almost wrenching it from the holster as she aimed it at him. "It's been years since I last saw my sister, but I recognize her anywhere," she seethed. "_Why my sister?_"

"She consented to the first attempt, knowing full well the consequences if it failed. It didn't. She became SOLDIER First Class years and years ago. And now, she's become the first ever Slayer."

Manna pulled the trigger unthinkingly, angered. "Give her back! Undo all those experiments!" she shouted, continuing to shoot as she spoke.

He ducked behind the table as each bullet flew overhead. He reached for his shotgun's grip and drew it, standing and aiming it at her head. "Don't push it, Azurelight," he said calmly. "Sister though you may be to Raenya here, I won't hesitate to kill you if you continue trying to kill me."

Manna's finger trembled over the trigger. In time, she realized it wasn't her finger that was trembling.

Her whole body was trembling. She was angry at him, sad that she had lost her sister to scientific experiment. She was, for the first time in a while, depressed. "Why...?" she finally squeaked, dropping the handgun, hand dropping slowly. "Why my sister...?"

Dmitri lowered his shotgun. "As I said, she consented to it. I was questionable at first, but she was the only one that consented to it so easily. In fact, she came to me about it."

"How old was she...?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Eleven, I believe. I was skeptical about experimenting on such a young girl, but she insisted. So, I performed it upon her. SOLDIER First Class is what resulted." He looked at Raenya. "As I said, I was skeptical about it. In time, she grew on me, and I her."

Manna gritted her teeth. "Sick freak..." she murmured.

"Heh, no. She was twenty when she began drawing close to me. Up to that point, I was a mentor and teacher to her. I taught her how to fight at her level of skill, I taught her numerous things. As it is, we realized our love for one another recently." He looked up at her. "Don't get the wrong ideas."

Manna examined Raenya. "She's... dedicated to you...?"

"To me, to Project Slayer. She's the most dedicated person to the Chemical Research branch other than myself. For that, I'm grateful to her."

"She understood the risks behind the experiments for Project Slayer on both counts?"

"She did, and yet she stuck through both. She has absolute trust in my deductions, having overseen well over half of them herself." He smiled, closing his eyes. "In a sense, she's Sephiroth's sister, although far from it. I suppose... it's safe to call her his equal."

Manna's eyes were still on Raenya. "Does... she remember me at all? Does she talk about me...?"

"She remembers you, but as far as talking about you goes..." He shook his head. "Apologies, Manna. She doesn't talk about you, possibly because that was thirty-four years ago."

"Thirty-four... Raenya's forty-five now..." Manna knelt down and picked up her handgun, holstering it. "I've missed so much. I knew what she looked like through photos, but I had never actually met her..."

"Mm. You were born three years after the first experiment. She visited you as the older sister a few times, but stopped after a while. I tried getting her to visit you again, but... She insisted on her training instead, insisted on her studies."

Manna sat on the table next to Raenya. "Is it... alright if I stay here with her...?"

He nodded. "I have other things to deal with right now. I must record this success regarding Project Slayer. Excuse me."

He was almost at the door when Manna gasped. "If you're here, then... Vincent?!"

"Down the corridor to the left. Go fifty paces, then turn to the door at your right. Valentine's there."

"I have to tell him what happened! Lizu--"

"Attacked WRO Headquarters, we know. We somehow managed to avoid her and escaped here. We've been here since."

Manna shook her head vigorously. "No, I mean she ripped souls from everyone there! By Hades, she removed everyone's soul, Professor!"

"So... Her assault on WRO Headquarters this time was to execute her plan..." He clicked his tongue. "This is most unfortunate..."

"You... knew...?" she seethed, clenching fists. "You sonuvabitch..."

"Valentine and I reached that conclusion shortly before he broke me out. Even if we alerted everyone, it wouldn't have mattered; she was only a half hour from the headquarters all the same." He sighed. "In short, we learned of it too late for it to matter." He looked over his shoulder at her. "Shall I wake him and bring Lockheart along, too?"

Manna's eyes widened. "Tifa's here?!"

"She is, and she's fine. Back to the normal Tifa Lockheart Valentine knows best."

Manna looked at the sleeping Raenya. "...No. Let it be; Raenya deserves to know too. Tifa, Vincent, Raenya, you and me... We're the only five that can avenge everyone..."

Dmitri nodded. "Let me know when you're ready to tell everyone else. From there, we'll plan the counterstrategy, and we'll strike back at her. Hopefully, it's not too late," he added in an undertone, stepping out and closing the door behind him.

Manna heard him, and closed her eyes. "I think it is too late," she murmured. "Lizu's won, and there's nothing we can do now but hide."

--

Dmitri managed to hear her through the door, and gave a small smirk. "No. Lizu and Sephiroth don't have a Slayer. We do." He turned to the left and began walking, hands clasped behind his back. "That makes all the difference in this war."

* * *

_Things are starting to fall into place slowly._

_Tifa's back to normal, and she's also just considerate of the fact that Vincent's tired and sleeping. Which is why she hasn't woken him yet._

_If I had to guess... I'd say that this story is either at the half-way point, or a little past half-way done. There's still some stuff I need to put in here, a massive plot twist being one of those things._

_So, what's Lizu up to during all this? You'll see next chapter, I swear it._

_Now, the pacifist of the OC group._

_Radia Aeon was born in Kalm, raised wherever her parents took her. She eventually wound up in Junon, the place her parents were last stationed at (her parents were both Shinra). At age sixteen, her parents vanished without a trace, and she lived on her own for a while, eventually moving to Midgar to join up with Shinra herself. However, she had reservations about joining with them, and ultimately didn't, choosing instead to try befriending everyone she met in Midgar instead. Her carefree personality sparked some interest in Cyrus Aichi, and the two became unlikely friends to those who knew the swordsman very well. In time, she came to meet Vil, William and Manna, and for the most part, she was a pillar of support for all of them (yet when Vil's death was confirmed, the group drifted apart... hm...). She believes that situations can be solved through words, and has never risen a weapon or cast a single harmful spell in her life. She has been beat up a lot by those who think she's wrong for thinking this way, but she perseveres for her beliefs. News of Vil's death shook her emotionally, and she found herself leaning on Cyrus more and more for her own emotional support. The two drew closer over time, and their relationship went to heights she never would have imagined possible. When he too vanished, Radia was at a loss for what to do, but lives on, caring for their daughter, Samantha Aeon. Radia still has contact with Will and Manna, but it's not quite to the degree it used to be._

_'Wait, Radia Aeon and Dmitri Aeon? Relations, somehow?' Indeed, Dmitri is Radia's father. She doesn't know he lives, however, and has more or less given up trying to find him after twelve years of searching for him (by the events of Meteorfall, Vilius is 26, Cyrus is 30, Will is 33, Manna is 31, Radia is 28 and Dmitri is 50). The whereabouts of Radia's mother, however, are unknown. Then again, this is the original concept. I'd like to put them all in a story, but I have a feeling too many OCs like this would detract from the main cast..._

_Again, I don't own Radia Aeon; the creator of Radia does. I merely have permissions to use her as an OC, nothing more._

_Next chapter, Lizu is still fighting in WRO Headquarters? Who is her opponent?_

_Other rants now. Morrowind's not bad, but I kind of dislike Vivec; the buildings look the same to me, and I'm hopelessly lost there. I haven't really begun the Main Quest storyline, but I'll get there sooner or later._

_Until next chapter! -Spiritslayer_


	13. Escape To Safety

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," she heard Lizu tease. "I shan't leave you alive, little girl."

Shelke silently gripped her sabers tight, grateful she was transparent right now. _She dares call me little?_ she thought to herself, looking around the doorway she was hiding behind. She spotted the silver hair, the warstaff in hand. If she didn't know Lizu was the enemy, she'd think she was an angel to the battlefield.

Lizu was grinning. "You're a pain, little girl. Just come out and I'll make it quick."

Shelke's grip on her sabers tightened. Her only chance was to escape; she had tried fighting Lizu already, and was considering herself exceptionally lucky to have survived.

She had to escape, and soon. _But where? Someplace Lizu didn't know about..._

Deepground crossed Shelke's mind, and she instantly understood. _Midgar Underground. Of course._ She took a cautious step into the doorway, eyes fixed on Lizu. She had to incapacitate Lizu to escape safely, and to do that, she had to catch Lizu off guard...

_But Sephiroth's barrier repels all attacks on Lizu. I can't electrocute her that way._ Her eyes flicked to the staff and then to Lizu's bare hand. In that instant, her plan clicked, and she took another cautious step, this one toward Lizu.

"Little girl. Give up peacefully, and I'll only snatch your soul. There's a chance of survival that way, but I'll take that from you if you keep hiding from me." Lizu began twirling the staff in her left hand. "Last chance, little girl."

Shelke silently rushed toward Lizu, sabers baring no charge as of yet. _I make one mistake, and it's all over, _she thought, anxious. _But if this works, I'm safe. It all rides on just how accurately I've read her attack style in melee combat. All or nothing._

"Little girl--" Lizu began.

"I'll have you know," Shelke said, appearing behind Lizu, "I'm twenty-one years old, you ancient witch." She swung her left saber at Lizu, flicking her right saber on.

"I'm ancient, eh?" Lizu laughed, the saber bouncing off the barrier surrounding Lizu. "Oh, you wish, little girl."

"I just explained I'm not little," Shelke replied calmly, swinging her left saber again. _I need to get the right saber to maximum charge to disable her for at least three minutes. That's enough time for me to escape and reach Midgar Underground without her tailing me._

"You look ten to me," Lizu replied, chuckling. "Give up; you'll never bypass my love's barrier."

Shelke took this opening. "Your love? What makes you believe he really loves you? How do you know he's not just using you?"

Lizu narrowed her eyes. "Don't you _dare_ suggest our love is one-sided!" she hissed, gripping her staff tight. She drew it back and swung at Shelke. "You, who have never loved before, have no right!"

"I'm in love with someone, no matter how fruitless the effort may seem," Shelke replied, blocking the staff with her left saber. She had coaxed Lizu into the offensive, and could take advantage of that situation. "He's already taken, but he means the world to me."

Lizu snorted. "You lie to try and feel better. Hah, interesting." She swung the staff again. "I've changed my mind. I'm going to kill you instead of remove your soul."

Shelke dodged the next swing, attempting to close the distance between them. She felt herself hit the barrier and made a mental note of where it was located, taking a small jump back. "How generous of you." She glanced at her right saber, then up at Lizu. "How about you drop the puppeteer's barrier and fight me in a straight-up battle?"

Lizu glared at Shelke, rushing recklessly. "He's _not_ a puppeteer! Our love is genuine!" she exclaimed, making random swings with her staff.

Shelke dodged all but one, choosing instead to block this with her right saber. She grinned. "Got you," she said, pressing a small button located below the switch.

Lizu's body seized up as her body was paralyzed by the sudden surge of electricity. She managed to look at Shelke, who was busy coursing electricity through the saber. "But... how...?"

"Your metal staff," Shelke replied coolly. "Most people holding a solid metal staff would wear gloves, no? But you wield it barehanded. Attacking recklessly over some cheap taunts makes you more vulnerable." Shelke smirked. "In effect, your reckless attack is your weakness, even through the barrier Sephiroth put up." She closed her eyes and placed her left saber on the right one, flicking the left one on as well.

More electricity met Lizu's body, and she slowly slumped to her knees. She shut her eyes tight, trying to stand to no avail. "You... little..." she managed, staff held tight in her hand, though not by her choice; the electricity had paralyzed her momentarily. "So... this... was planned..."

Shelke nodded. "But of course. It was the only way for me to actually beat you."

"And if you kill me, then how will you restore your friends' souls? Hm?"

"Who said I was going to kill you now?" Shelke retorted, smirking again. "No, this was to paralyze you for about ten minutes. Don't count on being capable of any movement in that time frame." _I can only hope she falls for my bluff,_ she added to herself. _If she doesn't, she may catch up to me after all._

Lizu didn't reply, and Shelke removed the sabers from the staff, sheathing them as she bolted for the main door. She chanced a glance behind her and gave an apologetic look to the fallen forms of Cloud and Yuffie. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'll get you back." She faced forward again, determined to reach Midgar Underground at any cost.

--

Lizu groaned, trying to move. "Don't tell me... she was serious..." she moaned. "I can't move for ten minutes? Damn her!"

"Lizu, this is well enough. Now, however, you must locate the remaining heroes. Cloud and Yuffie were only two of the eight. You still have Cid Highwind, Barret Wallace, Nanaki, who's also known as Red XIII, Vincent Valentine and Tifa Lockheart."

"The last two aren't going to be difficult. Valentine's only able to hide in so many places; I'll find him shortly. Lockheart's hardly a threat; the crystal still possesses her. Unless she can resist its effects, I can put her off to the last target."

"You did well today, Lizu."

She closed her eyes. "Sephiroth... is what she said true...?"

"You're really letting what that girl said get to you? We both know what she said is far from the truth. It was just what she said to distract you."

"Y-yes. Of course." She wanted to shake her head, but she still couldn't move. "Damn that girl. I'll kill her next time I see her, I swear to Mother!"

Sephiroth laughed. "Rest for now. There's no one here who can pose you any threat. They'd have to be stronger than me to pose a threat, and we both know there's no one like that in existence."

Lizu had to agree. "Of course. Even if she escaped, we're still invincible together."

--

Shelke glanced behind her. It had been ten minutes already, and she smirked. _So she fell for it. Good._ She looked ahead to Midgar's ruins, still running.

Her mind flicked to the fallen forms of Cloud, then her partner and best friend, Yuffie. Her smirk faded, and she gritted her teeth. "Damn you, Lizu," she muttered. "I won our battle, but you've won the war..." She sighed, shaking her head. "If... if only I wasn't the only one who made it out safely..." She looked to the entrance of Shinra Headquarters, and dashed inside, slightly amazed the doors were open already. "Did someone else come through?" she asked herself, not entirely aware she said this aloud. "Is it possible... there's someone else who survived that assault?"

Almost a half hour later, she was standing at the elevator shaft, pressing the call button. "This confirms it. Someone's down there now, and no doubt they survived the assault on WRO Headquarters." She felt her heart soar at the mere thought of another survivor. "Could it be Vincent? Or Reeve? Maybe... Yuffie managed to deceive Lizu?"

As the elevator appeared in her vision, she suddenly remembered Manna Azurelight, and felt her hopes sink slightly. "Of course... She managed to get away, too. But why'd she come down here?" She stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for Midgar Underground. "Because Lizu doesn't know about it? It's likely, I suppose... But how'd she know about it?" She facepalmed gently. "So stupid; she's WRO, too. Of course she knows of Midgar Underground's existence."

--

Dmitri paused. Was he hearing things, or was someone using the elevator? His mind flicked to Lizu and his hand shot to his shotgun. "How'd she find out...?" he wondered, making a dash for the elevator. His 'laboratory' wasn't that far from it, so he could get there before the elevator descended. It'd give him time to figure out how to take down Lizu with just his shotgun's one shot. _Given the fact that this is Lizu, she won't allow me a chance to reload at all, and I'm horrible at melee combat, even with JENOVA cells inside me._

He reached the elevator and looked up; he could see the bottom of it. _This is it. She's got to be the one riding it, and if she thinks to look around, we're all dead._ He drew his shotgun and hid in the shadows, waiting to see where she stood so he could get a good shot, catch her off guard.

The elevator reached the bottom, and someone stepped off. Her shoes padded softly on the surface, then stopped. He looked to see who it was, and gave a small frown.

The person he was looking at was obviously not Lizu. This girl had short hair, Mako blue eyes. She had dual sabers at her hips, and she was looking around nervously. "Anyone here?" she called, still looking around.

He decided it was safe to approach her, and did so, shotgun still at the ready. "You are...?" he began slowly, making her jump.

She examined the man looking at her. "Rui. Shelke Rui, of WRO. I managed to escape from Lizu." She eyed the shotgun warily. "And you must be Dmitri Aeon."

"Perceptive girl," he commented, slowly lowering the shotgun. "That I am. WRO, you say?"

"Mm. Did Manna Azurelight come down here, too?"

He holstered the shotgun, nodding and taking steps toward her. "She did. I can show you to her, if you wish. Manna and I aren't alone down here, of course. There are three others, two of whom you may be excited to see." He began leading her down the corridor, and she followed almost too willingly.

"...Why?" she finally asked.

"Mm?"

"Why help me out? I'm WRO; we captured you."

He waved a hand. "I'm not one for grudges. You, as in WRO, detained me for your own personal reasons; I can't hold that against all of you. Who knows, maybe there's someone among the WRO who shares the same passions as I do."

"I doubt that," she replied hotly. "You're the one who pioneered Project Slayer; only you and Hojo knew about it."

"There's one other who knew about it. Well, two if you want to count Valentine. Three if you count Lucrecia. But sadly, the one I'm thinking of doesn't work with the WRO. She's remained by my side ever since I made her who she is. Well, was."

"Was? She's... dead?"

"No, my dear. She's still alive, she's just... something more than she used to be. As opposed to a SOLDIER First Class, she's now a Slayer. The trump card in our battle against Lizu."

"So you escaped while Lizu was attacking WRO Headquarters? But how? I heard you were given the strongest security."

"I had help from the inside," he replied, pausing outside a door to his right. "That's all." He opened it and stepped inside. "Is he alright?" he asked someone.

Shelke walked forward, wondering who he was talking to. She heard "...asleep, but otherwise fine." She recognized the voice, and looked inside.

Tifa's eyes rested on Shelke, and both felt their eyes widen in surprise. "Shelke?!" Tifa exclaimed, taking a slow step forward, then running toward her friend, arms outstretched.

Shelke felt her jaw drop, but quickly corrected that with a wide smile. "Tifa! You're alright!" she replied, hugging the martial artist. "We heard that something had happened to you!"

"Yeah, well... I'm fine now!" She looked up at Dmitri. "It's really thanks to Dmitri Aeon, too; he's the one who returned me to normal." She nodded to him. "Thanks again. I can't really thank you enough."

He shrugged. "It's fine, it's fine."

Shelke's eyes drifted to the figure slumped on the desk before him, and she gasped. "He... he's still alive...?" she whispered, slowly releasing Tifa.

Tifa nodded. "He's not that weak, you know."

Shelke couldn't respond. Her heart was racing.

She was just glad to see that Vincent Valentine was alright.

--

"Mm..."

Manna looked at the form of Raenya as her older sister's eyes opened. She smiled at her. "Hey," she said softly.

Raenya blinked, then again. She shook her head softly, then stopped and blinked once more. "There's... no way you're here..." she murmured. "I mean... Valentine _did_ call me Manna, but..."

She tried sitting up, but Manna urged her sister down. "Rest," she said softly. "Please, sister."

Raenya finally gave in and lay down again, turning her head to face her younger sister. "It's been years since I last saw you," she whispered. "You've grown and changed so much..."

Manna nodded, eyes brimmed with tears. "And so have you." She threw her arms around Raenya and hugged her as best she could.

Raenya didn't feel tears coming to her own eyes, but hugged Manna all the same. "Time apart will do that. So how's life treated you?"

"I can't complain. I moved out of Gongaga when I was twelve, and lived in Junon from there. I joined up with the WRO shortly after that Deepground incident. Oh, but you must know all about that, seeing whereas you and Professor Aeon are both here."

Raenya nodded slowly, releasing her sister. "...Why did you come here?" she finally asked. "I didn't want to see you, not in these circumstances."

"I had to escape Lizu. It was either run away and come here, or stay and have my soul removed, just like... just like everyone else..." She released Raenya and sat up, shaking her head. "In the end... I couldn't do anything to help..."

"Lizu's not easy to defeat, Manna. I doubt even I could've beaten her while I was SOLDIER First Class. I'm assuming Dmitri told you that I'm a Slayer now?"

"He did. He also said..." She hesitated. "Why'd you stop visiting me after time passed, sister? Did family not mean anything to you when you became SOLDIER First Class through Project Slayer?"

"...I didn't want to endanger your life. For a while, you were my biggest weakness, and I knew how many people would be dirty enough to exploit that weakness of mine just to defeat me," Raenya finally confessed. "It's not because I didn't love you; I stopped visiting _because_ I loved you. I didn't want anything to happen to the only sibling I had, and I still don't want anything to happen to you."

Manna closed her eyes, leaning forward to hug her sister again. "Thank you," she whispered. "And... it's so good to see you again..."

Raenya nodded, tears beginning to flood her eyes for the first time in countless years. "It's great to see you, too."

--

Lizu straightened up, frowning. "Shit, so she got away, the little shit." She rubbed the back of her neck with her right hand, her left hand clutching the Spiked Crescent. "Damnable bitch; I still can't believe I fell into that trap she set..."

"Now the question remains: where did she escape to?" Sephiroth asked.

"Only place close enough is Midgar. But there's really nowhere to hide there, not after what happened to it."

"Actually... There may be one place she could hide..." Sephiroth said slowly. "Although it's highly unlikely..."

"Where?"

"Shinra Headquarters."

* * *

_Well, how about that! Shelke survived the assault as well!_

_Hm... This is going to be one of my shorter rants, so... Well, guess I'll keep it short._

_Next chapter, the group discusses their next move. Does the secret to defeating Lizu lie in her staff?_

_Yeah, I'm feeling a little off today. Guess it's because I'm so tired... Well, next chapter should be up sometime tomorrow; if not tomorrow, then maybe Friday. But hoping tomorrow. -Spiritslayer_


	14. Finding The Enemy's Weakness

He heard voices around him, and wanted to shoo them away so he could sleep again. They had woken him from a particularly pleasant dream, one in which he and Tifa were together again. They had been on a beach in Costa del Sol, relaxing. _Wait... a beach? Weren't we planning on going to Icicle Inn for our honeymoon?_ he wondered to himself.

_**You were. But what's so wrong with a dream suggesting otherwise?**_

_Nothing, I suppose._ He listened to the voices that had woken him up. "I'd appreciate it," he muttered, "if you could leave me be a while longer."

The two voices stopped talking, and he felt hands rest on his shoulders. "Vince..." he heard one of them say.

His eyes opened slowly. "I recognize that voice," he said, turning to face the speaker. He couldn't believe his eyes, and thought for certain he was dreaming again.

Tifa was smiling at him. "I'm back," she said softly. "Miss me?"

"'Miss you' is an understatement," he replied. "Words fail me to describe just how much I missed you."

Tifa gave a small laugh. "I missed you too." She looked to her left, and Vincent turned his head to see who she was looking at now.

Shelke was looking at Vincent too, a small smile on her own face. "Good afternoon, Vincent," she said. "Sleep well?"

"Shelke? You're here too?" He gave his head a small shake. "Are Cloud, Yuffie, Reeve and Manna here too?"

Her eyes fell, and she slowly, reluctantly shook her head. "Only Manna. Cloud and Yuffie are confirmed... soulless."

"So Lizu did it..." he murmured. "Aeon and I only speculated that's what she was there to do, but for it to actually be the case..."

Tifa hugged him. "But you made it out safely. That makes all the difference in the world to me."

"If only... I tried to help them out, too... But I was too damn focused on getting Aeon out of there as well..."

Shelke frowned. "Why is it you broke Dmitri Aeon out of the WRO cells, anyway? Surely you had good reason, but what?"

"He said he could remove the piece of crystal -- no, piece of materia from Tifa, provided we find her first. He wouldn't tell me how, so it really left no choice. Besides, Raenya will only listen to him. And I think it's safe to say that we need her help fighting Lizu." He sighed. "I told myself it was for the greater good, but was I right to do it...?"

"No, you weren't. However, it _was_ for the greater good, so I think Reeve is willing to forgive it. Of course, that depends on him having survived the assault, and I don't think he did..." Shelke saw the question forming in both of their eyes, and shook her head. "I didn't see him anywhere, but then again, I made a run straight for the exit. I tried fighting Lizu, and I probably would've lost if I kept going."

Vincent looked to the doorway. "Where is Aeon? I think it's time for us to begin planning our next move against Lizu and Sephiroth."

Tifa's eyes fell at the latter name. "So it's true what he told me... Sephiroth's still alive... At first, I thought it was a lot of speculation, but now I see otherwise..."

"He's alive, but he doesn't have a physical body. He lives as a spirit in the staff Lizu uses, and he provides her with a powerful barrier and the occasional offensive spell. He's already hit Vincent and I with Ultima once, and he caught Cloud and Yuffie with that same Ultima spell as well."

"To be technical, he hit the Galian with Ultima; when it fell, I regained control." Vincent gave a nod. "But all the same, he's still fearsome, even as a spirit." He suddenly recalled the first battle he had against Lizu. "That's right too. The first time I fought Lizu, she would've lost if Sephiroth hadn't possessed her body and fought in her place. So he can take over her body as he wishes, and that makes him very dangerous all the same."

_**Stop stealing my glory, Valentine. You didn't exactly fight her, you know.**_

"As long as he doesn't go off summoning Meteor again," they heard from the doorway, "we can beat him."

The three of them faced Dmitri, who was leaning against the doorway. "How?" Shelke asked. "Bypassing that barrier of his is impossible; as it is, I had to lure Lizu into the offensive with her staff in order to escape. A good, firm shock applied to the staff, and she was paralyzed. There wasn't nearly enough force to kill her, though."

Dmitri gave a small nod. "Yet now we have a chance. I've had success with Project Slayer, and the first Slayer is visiting with her sister. As soon as they've caught up with one another, we'll begin our strategy meeting and begin our counteroffensive against Lizu and Sephiroth."

He was ready to turn from them and walk down the corridor when Shelke stopped him. "But the removed souls... She said that if I killed her, the souls would never rejoin their original bodies."

He paused. "That would be a problem, wouldn't it?" he sighed. "Well, regardless, it's nothing we can't handle. I've done some research on that very materia, and have tested both properties on simple mice. The possession is easy enough to clear up, the soul theft is quite another matter. However, it can be done, and those mice are acting as though nothing ever happened to them."

"How can we restore their souls?" Vincent asked.

"...Let me handle that when the time comes. We need Lizu's crystal, which houses all the souls she's removed so far. To get that from her, we need to defeat her. And even then, it's a gamble..." His voice trailed, and he shook his head. "Enough of that, though. Let me know when you're ready to begin discussing our strategy." He waved a hand over his shoulder, walking out of their sight as he did.

"What do you think he meant by 'even then, it's a gamble'? Does that mean there's no set chance of success we'll get our friends back?" Tifa asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"Sounds that way, but this whole battle against Lizu is a gamble in and around itself," Vincent said. "She gets help from Sephiroth, and her magical skills aren't to be overlooked either. In effect, she's invincible with Sephiroth." _There has to be some way to beat her... Even the strongest foes have a weakness, and that's true even with Lizu. But what's her weakness...?_

_**Why are you asking me? You really expect me to know?**_

_Not really._ He wished he had a book, and settled for crossing his arms and leaning back, eyes closed.

"It's impossible to be invincible. Every enemy has a weakness somewhere." Shelke was more or less voicing Vincent's thoughts. "If we can't defeat Lizu, then... Maybe we have to defeat Sephiroth?"

"But how?" Tifa asked. "He's in a staff, right? How are we going to defeat a spirit when its possessing a staff?"

Vincent opened his eyes, a sly grin crossing his face. "We won't," he said simply, standing and uncrossing his arms. "All we have to do is take Lizu's staff away from her. We do that, we take Sephiroth from her."

Tifa smiled. "The Galian's idea, no doubt."

Vincent nodded. "The Galian's fought against Lizu twice, and even fought Sephiroth once. Neither time did it win, but it _did_ pull up some useful information from those experiences."

"So take the staff from Lizu, take away her barrier... Without that barrier, she's vulnerable?"

"If it weren't for Sephiroth's interference the first time the Galian fought Lizu, she'd be dead by now. She's as vulnerable as the next caster type without her staff."

They were psyched that they had a means to defeat Lizu now. Then... "Isn't it going to be insanely difficult to take her staff from her, though?" Tifa asked.

Neither Vincent nor Shelke responded, and that was because they knew it was true. They had no chance of defeating Lizu while she had the staff, and to try taking it from her was the closest thing to suicide they could imagine.

Tifa sighed. "Sorry. I wrecked the mood of that," she said softly.

"Don't worry about it. We needed to get that fact out there as well. But still... it's a development, one we could very well capitalize on if we plan this out right." Vincent nodded to the door. "I'm going to talk to Aeon about it and see what he thinks of it."

--

Dmitri was busy recording the notes on his latest success when he heard the door open behind him. "Knock first," he said dismissively.

"Apologies, Dmitri," he heard Raenya say. "I should know better by now."

"Raenya. You shouldn't be up and about just yet. The three components haven't settled yet, and you of all people should know this."

"Hey, don't talk to my sister like that!" he heard Manna protest. "You should be glad she's able to walk around!"

He stopped typing for a moment and turned his head to face the two sisters. "I should, eh? But if something happens to her while she's 'walking around', then I not only lose the first major success in Project Slayer, I also lose her." He faced the computer screen again and resumed typing. "I'd prefer to keep her, all things considered. As her doctor, it's more or less an order. Help her back to her bed, and make sure she stays there, Manna."

"But she really wanted to see you," Manna sighed. "Oh, fine. If your research means more to you than your personal life, then who am I to try and interfere...?"

Dmitri's fingers froze for a moment, but resumed after a couple seconds. "Glad you see it my way," he replied simply.

He heard the door open again, and thought he was alone again. His hand shot to his shotgun's grip, however, when he heard a deep voice say "Aeon."

"For the greater love of science, doesn't _anyone_ knock anymore?" he grumbled, sliding his hand from his shotgun and bringing it back to the keyboard. "What do you want, Valentine?"

"Tifa, Shelke, the Galian and myself have reached a conclusion on how to defeat Lizu easily, and yet it's a task all in itself."

"Oh? Do tell."

"We've already established that Sephiroth lives on in Lizu's staff."

"Correct."

"We've established that Sephiroth puts up a barrier that, in effect, makes Lizu invincible."

"Correct."

"So, suppose we take Lizu's staff from her and deprive her of Sephiroth's powers? She'd be extremely vulnerable without it."

"In theory."

He heard Vincent sigh. "What do you mean, 'in theory'?"

"If you have to ask, you haven't considered all possibilities. And I do mean _all possibilities_."

"So you're saying that to take her staff from her _won't_ make her much easier to defeat."

"Correct."

His attention was ripped from the computer screen as he felt a cool claw close around the back of his collar and yank him roughly out of the chair. He chuckled. "I do believe your anger is misplaced, Valentine."

"What do you know about Lizu that we don't?" he growled. "If we're to defeat her, we need _all_ facts on the table."

"Her skills are equal to Sephiroth's, and that's without the staff. You seriously think you'll have an easier time against her just because you take her toy away from her? No, her mastery of magic of all natures is unparalleled by simple humans."

"So you're saying that with the staff..."

Dmitri reached behind him and attempted to pry the claw off his collar. "With the staff, she's actually superior to Sephiroth's magical capabilities. And seeing whereas she's a caster type by nature, that's troublesome. Taking her toy from her will drop her magical abilities to Sephiroth's level, and you'll still have a challenging fight on your hands. Hojo and I were rather particular about the JENOVA Project, Valentine; surely you've realized this by now?"

Vincent dropped Dmitri, and the scientist began straightening his collar. "In the end, your research is the cause of all this trouble," he hissed.

Dmitri smirked, finishing with his collar. "I won't ask you to forgive me for making scientific advances. After all, it's because of the JENOVA Project that Cloud Strife was capable of defeating Sephiroth and averting Meteorfall in the first place, correct?"

He fought the urge to laugh as he saw Vincent's face dawn with realization at how true this news was. "You..." the ex-Turk growled.

"Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have a project to update," he said coolly, picking up his chair and sitting down again.

He heard Vincent walk to the door. "You bastard," Vincent said.

"At what point did you gain the delusion that I was ever on your side?" Dmitri asked, an air of triumph in his voice.

Vincent walked out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him.

"However, taking her staff from her _will_ make her more manageable..." Dmitri mused to himself. "You, my boy, have learned what I like to call 'damage control'." He resumed typing.

--

"You sure about this?"

"Almost positive. She can't have gone up, however; the upper levels are destroyed."

"So where did she go? There's really no 'down' here..."

Sephiroth chuckled. "True. But she is capable of transparency; perhaps she's hiding around us right now?"

Lizu sighed. "Damned uppity bitch. Thinks she's won just because she managed to escape me. I suppose I can take care of the other heroes first, then go looking for her."

"You're back on track, I see."

Lizu glanced at the damaged door near the elevators, and shrugged. "I'll worry about this later." She walked away, outside of Shinra Headquarters.

* * *

_Whoo, Lizu was close to them. Well, she'll never figure it out on her own. Now, does Sephiroth know...? Heh, I'll keep quiet about that._

_Another short rant. I will, at this point, say that I'm back in Azeroth/Outland. That's right, I play WoW and have been away for roughly a couple months. But now I'm back on, so look me up on Velen, Dragonmaw or Elune. Best chance of finding me on Velen is with either Calani or Gazzak (both Horde), on Dragonmaw I'm Ilyasviel, Horde. Elune I'm Errya, Alliance. Maybe I'll see you there?_

_Next chapter, they decide to act against Lizu, the intention of defeating her lying in stealing her staff. Can they do it, and if so, what repercussions await them for it? -Spiritslayer_


	15. Surprise Assault, Surprising Result

It was a good three days before Vincent, Tifa and Raenya went to the surface. They kept an eye out for Lizu, knowing she could be anywhere, but hoping all the same that she'd jump them.

--

_"Vincent and Tifa. You two are to go, along with Raenya, to the surface. The sudden presence of two heroes of Meteorfall may entice her, especially when they happen to be the two heroes she seems to desire defeating most."_

_"Isn't that considerably risky?" Shelke asked. "Even if it's to steal Lizu's staff from her--"_

_"No matter how you see it, Shelke, it's going to be insanely difficult no matter when we put this into motion," Manna sighed. "She won't be expecting the two of them to show themselves so soon, and if they do this right, it could be an ambush."_

_"You insult my work," Dmitri scoffed. "Lizu's a product of the JENOVA Project; to ambush someone like Sephiroth or Lizu would require years of practice and some camouflage. And even then, that same ambush could very well be the end of you if you fail to take her down in one strike. No, you three aren't to ambush Lizu. Let her come to you. Raenya, when this happens, you take point in the fight against Lizu. Valentine, you'll provide suppressive fire to keep her from going too far. Lockheart, on the other hand, will get to have the most crucial task. She will be attempting to seize Lizu's staff and take it from her. When this is accomplished, the three of you will attempt to knock out Lizu, at the bare minimum. Worst case scenario, kill her."_

_"Why aim for a knock-out?" Vincent snapped. "The bitch has done many wrongs in her life, most of which would warrant capital punishment."_

_"True. However, there are many things I can glean from studying the last remaining survivor of the JENOVA Project."_

_"You and research," Manna muttered._

_Dmitri ignored Manna. "Now then, I will wish you three luck and godspeed. See you when you've defeated Lizu." He stood and clasped his hands behind his back. "This meeting is adjourned."_

--

"I still don't see why we can't just kill her," Vincent said. "Forget research; any more projects like the JENOVA Project or Project Slayer will just end up killing the planet at this rate."

"The professor has discovered a means to recycle Mako, even turn it back into pure Lifestream," Raenya said defensively. "When he uses Mako, he puts any waste into a jar and places it on a shelving unit. Once it's full, he takes a day to himself to recycle the Mako. It's a groundbreaking development, actually."

"Yeah, but Mako injections stay for life," Vincent reminded her.

"Mako injections don't drain the planet by the gallon," she shot back.

Tifa was rubbing her temples. "Would you both just please stop?" She groaned. "You're giving me a headache..."

Both of them looked at Tifa, then glared at one another, the argument over.

"Thank you," she sighed, continuing to massage her temples. "Vince, you can be really immature when you want to be, you know that?"

"So you don't have anything to say about her?" he snapped.

"I don't know Raenya as well as I know you," she reminded him. "And snap at me again, I'll make you wish you hadn't. Seriously, just like a little kid..."

Raenya said nothing on the matter, instead choosing to look around. Her Mako blue eyes reflected in the sunlight as they walked. "Where are we headed?" she asked. "Anywhere in particular?"

"Not really. I think we should get away from Shinra Headquarters all the same, though; it'll raise suspicion if we're that close to it, I think." Tifa looked at where Sector Seven had fallen, and felt the pang of sadness she always got whenever she looked at it. "...Somewhere away from Midgar, but avoiding Edge or Kalm," she said quietly.

Vincent looked at her, concerned, but Raenya nodded. "I can think of a place we can go. Our chance of discovery will be high there, and our chance of being suspected of leaving Midgar Underground will be next to none."

"Lead on," Tifa said.

They followed Raenya in silence for a while. Vincent broke the silence. "Are you alright, Tifa?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm really nervous about this," she admitted. "The plan's success hinges on whether or not I can steal her staff from her, and from what I've heard of her battle style, it's not going to be easy either way."

"Let me handle that," he offered. "I've seen how she fights, I can--"

She shook her head. "You're a better shot than I am. I'll trust in your aim, Vince, and handle the task of disarming her."

"...Alright. Let me know if you change your mind," he said quietly.

"What about you? You doing okay?" she asked.

"I've been better. Physically, I'm fine. It's just arguing with Aeon and Raenya that has me aggravated, I guess."

"We only agrue with you because you insist we're your friends and allies. I thank you, as does Dmitri, for helping him escape from WRO Headquarters, but this is as far as the debt goes. In exchange for breaking him out of imprisonment, we're helping you overcome Lizu." Raenya glanced behind her, ice in her eyes. "Once this is finished, never think of us as friends or allies again, Valentine. We're enemies, and will remain so. The only reason we're helping you take down Lizu is--"

"Because of some stupid debt."

"Wrong. We have a common enemy. Lizu is the common enemy here, and it only makes sense to team up for now."

Tifa chuckled. "Alliance of convenience, huh?"

"Precisely."

Vincent wondered, for a fleeting second, how far he could send Raenya flying if he just sent a sudden punch slamming into her face.

--

"That's really how it is?" Tifa said.

"...It's what Dmitri says, anyway. I don't understand why he can't just see things from our point of view," the second woman sighed.

Lizu smirked. "This is almost like cheating," she murmured to her staff's orb. "I feel really bad about it, then I remember that the two of them are heroes of Meteorfall too."

Sephiroth chuckled as Lizu leapt down upon them. "True."

She landed gracefully behind them, staff clasped in hand. She twirled it, walking toward them, slowly closing the distance between them. "I... found... you..." she said slowly, almost singing.

--

_**Vincent!**_

_You sense it too?_ He didn't glance over his shoulder, but instead went straight for Cerberus. He unholstered it slowly. _I'll handle this. If the fight gets out of hand, though, you're in charge._

_**Understood.**_

Vincent whirled around and aimed at Lizu's head. "We were being followed," he said calmly, eyes narrowed.

Tifa and Raenya looked back, then spun around to face Lizu. "So... that's Lizu...?" Tifa asked, eyes wide. "She... looks almost exactly like Sephiroth himself..."

Raenya said nothing, rushing forward and expecting Vincent to provide the suppressive fire he was supposed to provide. Tifa waited for Raenya to fix Lizu's attention.

Vincent barely recovered the plan and adjusted his aim by an inch, firing. The bullet flew past Lizu's head, and she smirked at him.

"Your aim's off, Valentine," she said coolly, blocking Raenya's attack with her staff. "Work on it." She blocked Raenya's next attack and scoffed. "Such manners. We should introduce ourselves before one of us is erased from the face of the earth today." She jumped backward a little, bowing slightly. "My name is Lizu."

"Raenya Azurelight, Slayer." She allowed a curt bow before grasping her tonfa. She carefully charged at Lizu, knowing her role was suppressive close-quarters.

"Slayer? That some sort of fancy title?" Lizu snorted, twirling her staff a couple times. She grasped it with both hands and thrust the tip at Raenya. "Well, the only one who will be slain today is you."

Vincent took careful aim again and fired once more, cringing slightly as Raenya moved into the path of the bullet, relaxing once she moved out of the path of it.

Tifa watched at the two fought, and she took a step forward, then another. _Lizu's forgotten about me,_ she thought, wishing it to be true. She made sure she moved fast enough that Raenya wouldn't be worn out, but slow enough that she didn't divert Lizu's attention.

Lizu was laughing, blocking attack after attack with her staff. She grinned as the orb began glowing violent green.

Vincent recognized the magic, though it had been through the Galian's eyes before. He fired once more, this time aiming at the orb of the staff. "Get back!" he shouted. "That's Ultima!"

Raenya ignored the gunner, choosing instead to press the attack. Tifa, however, heeded this warning and moved swiftly to take Lizu's back. She moved toward the silver-haired opponent slowly, eyes on the staff as it entered her vision.

The light vanished and Ultima was cast. Raenya leapt back nimbly, barely avoiding the brunt of the attack, but still catching some of the powerful magics. She fell to a knee, and groaned. "What... what's wrong with me...?" she wondered aloud. "A spell such as that shouldn't..."

"Ultima is considered the strongest magic," Lizu sneered. "No matter how strong you may be, it's still going to hurt." She stepped toward Raenya, positioning the staff behind her.

Tifa saw her opportunity and lunged forward, hand outstretched. Her fingers touched the staff, and she felt her heart leap. She pushed forward a little more and seized the staff, wrenching it from Lizu's hand.

Lizu glared at Tifa. "You..." she growled. "Give that back, or I'll kill you."

Tifa's heart was racing, her hand tight around the staff. "No. You want it back so badly, then come and take it from me." She brandished it awkwardly, the realization of her inexperience with such weapons slowly dawning on her.

Lizu chuckled. "Don't tempt me, Lockheart."

A bullet flew past her head, and she glanced at Vincent. "Fine. You want to play that way, I guess it's time I use my favorite materia." She pulled out a piece of materia the size of her fist.

The three of them recognized the color of it, and in that instant knew what she was now planning. "Soul theft? Hah, you've got to get closer, right?" Tifa mocked.

"Not what I had in mind," she responded quietly, closing her eyes. She held the materia above her head, and it flashed red. Another red flash followed, and they were looking at a vividly red materia.

"...Summon?" Raenya murmured. "But... the only summon you could possibly accomplish with that is..."

"Think for a moment," Lizu said softly, the materia flashing repeatedly. A strong wind picked up, and they braced themselves against it.

A flash of a sword was visible, and Tifa found herself on the defensive, using the staff as a shield as best she could. She looked at the sword, and gasped. "C..." Her eyes went wide. "Cloud?" She whispered.

The blonde swordsman was attempting to force her down, his eyes glowing a reddish yellow that was unnatural for him. He gave up in time and leapt back, sword held in one hand.

A swirl of ethereal mist was visible, and a shuriken flashed into Tifa's line of sight. It bit into her right arm, making her cry out, her grip on the staff slackening.

Vincent watched in disbelief as Cloud and Yuffie Kisaragi bore down on Tifa. He glared at Lizu. "What have you done to them?!" he roared, aiming at her head.

"When I remove one's soul with this materia, they inhabit this materia orb directly until I release the soul. Now, suppose I found myself wishing to use the souls in combat?"

Vincent fired once, but Lizu nimbly dodged the shot. "All's End materia," she whispered, closing the distance between them remarkably fast. "_That_... is what this materia is called." The materia was held up to Vincent's face, and it flashed.

--

Raenya groaned as she dragged the unconscious forms of Tifa and Vincent back to Midgar Underground. Not only had their plan failed when she used the summoning property of the All's End materia, Lizu had recovered her staff. She nearly took Tifa's soul too, but Raenya was able to distract Lizu and escape with both of them.

As far as Vincent went, though... She could only hope to whatever divine being existed that his soul remained in his body.

She replayed the fight back in her mind, and wanted to kick herself. _Even though I'm a Slayer, I couldn't overwhelm Lizu? Not even physically? But... it was a success, right?_ She decided to take it up with Dmitri when they returned. _Am I really a Slayer, or did we go wrong somewhere?_

--

Lizu smirked, examining the materia in her hand. "Tsk. I thought for sure I had them this time," she sighed, not disappointed in the least. "Well, I got _something_, so I guess I can't complain." She held the materia up again, and it flashed red again. "Time to examine my prize," she mused.

--

Dmitri watched in disbelief as Raenya dragged the two of them into the laboratory. "The plan... failed?" he asked.

She shook her head. "It worked, but Lizu pulled an unexpected stunt on us. She used the souls she's removed against us, and she _might _have removed Valentine's soul, too. She nearly got Lockheart's, but I decided it was time to escape."

Dmitri whistled. "Used the souls? You mean 'summoned'?"

She nodded, carefully laying the two down. "She called it All's End materia."

His eyes went wide, and he looked to the side. "This goes far beyond anything we could have imagined," he murmured. "Are you absolutely sure you heard her correctly?"

Their attention was diverted as Tifa stirred. She sat up, and looked at Dmitri. "Huh...? Where...?" She looked at Vincent, and everything hit her all at once. "Vince?!" she exclaimed, holding him up.

--

Lizu frowned. "What's wrong with this thing? It takes too long."

"Be patient. Time progresses faster while battling, Lizu."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She watched as the materia flashed numerous times, then emitted three bright flashes. Cloud's spirit appeared before her, followed by Yuffie's. Another one began to waver into view, and she smirked.

--

"He can't be!" Tifa cried. "He just can't..."

Raenya, unsure of what to do, rested a hand on her shoulder. "We both saw it, Lockheart. She got him."

"Don't... write me off as... gone..." they heard him murmur. Both looked at him as he opened an eye, and he managed a small smile. "I'm fine, but..."

--

"Well, vengeance is sweet," she said happily. "Oh wait, I've beaten you twice now, right?"

The ethereal form of the Galian was snarling at her, claws extended.

"You're not quite as good a catch as Valentine himself would've been, but you'll do nicely."

--

"The Galian forced a transformation in a split second, and I guess... well, I guess that the All's End materia nailed the Galian's spirit instead. She got something, to be sure, but it wasn't me."

Tifa's eyes filled with tears. Whether they were of joy over Vincent's survival or sorrow over the loss of the Galian, no one knew. She hugged Vincent tight, and he groaned slightly, placing his right arm around her.

He looked up at Dmitri. "I've asked before, Aeon, I'll ask again. Who. Is. Lizu?"

Dmitri looked at Tifa, then at Raenya. His eyes shifted to Vincent, and he sighed. "No point hiding it. Come. It's time for another meeting, but this time, I'll put _everything_ I know out there."

* * *

_Ouch. Now _that_ hurts._

_So, yeah. I've been distracted recently, but I've also been busy writing up the next few chapters of this story. I'm also (and yes, still) working on the third chapter of Hiding Secrets; I can't seem to write up a chapter that seems satisfactory to put up... Then again, I'm the author, not the reader. Maybe I should just remember that and run with it...?_

_My rants are abnormally short lately. I call it a good thing, because it doesn't bother you incessantly. So, I'll just leave one thought before I say 'Adieu' for the day._

_Next chapter, who exactly is Lizu, and why has Dmitri kept quiet about her past and identity for so long? -Spiritslayer_


	16. Lizu's Past, Bleak Future

Dmitri looked at each person individually, starting with Raenya to his right, then shifting to Manna, then Shelke. His eyes slid from Shelke to Tifa, who was seated on the left side of the table, then his eyes met Vincent's. Those red, piercing eyes would've normally intrigued Dmitri, but this time, he felt chills run up and down his spine.

It had been years and years since he had last seen Vincent truly angry, and yet here it was once more.

"Our plan..." he began. "Our plan was a success, up to the point where Lizu utilized the materia in her possession. She turned the tables on Valentine, Lockheart and Raenya with it, and they barely escaped with their lives and souls."

Vincent slammed his right hand on the table. "Cut the shit, Aeon. Tell us who Lizu is, and tell us what you know about what's going on," he snarled.

"...Very well. Lizu was one of two who became a 'Sephiroth clone', as it were. The first one was the great Sephiroth we all know, however twisted he may have been. The other was Lizu, and she was branded 'failure' by Hojo simply because she was female, and the original Sephiroth was male."

"We know that," Vincent growled. "You've mentioned this before."

Tifa smacked him upside the head impatiently. "Quiet. He's trying to tell us," she said softly. She looked at Dmitri. "You and Hojo didn't do anything else to her?"

He shook his head, eyes closed. "No. We let her be once we branded her a failed experiment. I guess... our biggest concern should've been who she was _before_ she was experimented on."

Silence met him.

"Oh good. Now I have your attention." He folded his hands in front of him and stared at them as though they were an earth-shattering discovery. "Before Lizu became who you all know her to be, she was a powerful sorceress in her own right. She had the power to wipe out droves of enemies on her own, but she always wanted more. So, I decided to grant her that 'more', although Hojo never learned that it was me who performed the experiment on her. During the session in which I asked her all the necessary questions, I asked her why she wanted to undergo this experiment.

"She told me that she wanted more power for the future. She said that having any power was useless if she didn't have JENOVA's cells inside her. At this point, I wondered how she knew they were JENOVA cells, but I didn't ask her. So, I injected her with JENOVA cells, and the result is the woman you've all seen and fought." His eyes flicked to Manna, mentally exempting her from the list of 'those who've fought against Lizu'. "After she was dismissed, I looked into her past, and I instantly regretted injecting her with those cells.

"I learned, among the primary facts, that her spirit was immortal, and that when her physical body died, she simply drifted about as a spirit and found someone new to possess. I also learned that she was quite adept with materia and magic, and had been seen, on numerous counts in the past, casting spells _without_ requiring materia. Not a simple feat, you must understand. I eventually came to realize that with JENOVA cells injected into her body, her new physical body would never deteriorate. She would remain the silver-haired, green-eyed woman she now is. At first, I dismissed it as unimportant information.

"Then I dug a little deeper, this time more recently. I learned that Lizu's name popped up on a couple occasions in the past. I'm not talking about the last two decades. I'm talking about the last two _centuries_. Two hundred years ago, she was one of those who fought off an infestation of otherworldly monsters that would have otherwise overrun the planet. That was the latest occurrence of her name in history. The earliest occasion was almost a thousand years ago. She had been living among the Ancients, or Cetra, at the time, when they were plentiful. Before JENOVA came to the planet, bent on overtaking it.

"At this point, it didn't take long for me to click two and two together. How else would she know about JENOVA cells? I called her back in, and asked her a rather simple question. She gave a positive response, and I knew instantly that I had made the biggest mistake in my entire career as a scientist." He paused for a moment, making sure they were all still awake. Upon seeing they were, he continued. "Lizu was a traitor to the Cetra. JENOVA didn't chance upon this planet. She was called here."

It took some of them a moment to understand what he was saying. Tifa spoke first, and she spoke in a whisper. "You mean..."

"Yes, Lizu summoned JENOVA to the planet. She had somehow learned of the calamity in the distant past, and wished to call her here. The call was successful, and JENOVA came upon the planet. Lizu played no part in the fight against JENOVA, instead turning her massive understanding and eptitude for magic against the Cetra. In time, they sealed JENOVA, however, and destroyed Lizu's body.

"She didn't give up, however. She existed as a ghost, and eventually possessed another's body, reborn again, though as a different person. Her spirit has lived on all these years, and she's constantly shifted bodies. To be technical, she's died numerous times, but she always bounces back as a new young person. Then she came upon her current body, and decided she liked it too much to let it go to waste. She came to me. I injected her with JENOVA cells, the cells of the very calamity she summoned to the planet almost a millenium ago. She learned of numerous things when she gained JENOVA's cells, and she thanked me. She then vanished from my life, and until recently, I hadn't heard a word of her."

--

Lizu was looking at her staff's orb intently. She flicked her gaze to the materia, then back to the orb. "So... if I combine this materia with the orb, it'll cut down on the time needed to use the summon, and you'll be able to use it as well..." she said.

"Quite right. But Lizu, consider the vulnerability it puts your way. Tifa Lockheart has already taken the staff from you once. If you don't have the staff, I can't help you, and you lose the materia as well."

"Ah, you worry too much," she sighed, pressing the materia against the orb. "Now that I know they're after my staff, I know better. And, by fusing the staff with this materia, I condemn the souls trapped inside, should they try to take and destroy the staff. Which is likely, considering they know you live _somewhere_ in this staff."

"True. Now, Lizu, if I may be so bold as to remind you of the original plan..."

"I know," she sighed, fusing the materia with the staff's orb. "I know. I'll get right on that." She watched the staff's orb flash red a couple times, and grinned as it returned to the jet-black appearance it held. "Done. Now, time to deal with the remaining 'heroes of Meteorfall'." She began twirling the staff in her hand, humming to herself as she began walking.

"You're doing exceptionally well, Lizu. While that foul demon isn't quite Vincent Valentine's soul, it's still a start."

"I just have to think that if he didn't have that damned demon inside him, that would've been the end of him. That makes me really happy, and it makes me look forward to the next encounter with him."

"At this rate, I'll have a new body," Sephiroth laughed. "Then we can be together in the truest sense of the word."

Lizu smiled. "I can't wait for that."

She flipped the staff upside down, placing her foot in the crescent. She channeled Float into the orb, and she began floating across the ocean.

She had business to take care of, and it existed in the forms of Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind and Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon.

--

"But... if she died all those times and moved on all those times, then shouldn't her magic surpass that of even JENOVA?" Manna asked uncertainly.

"One would think, but each time she died, her body died. Her spirit, however, existed. In each case, she lost a body with affinities for magic. Her spirit alone has no such affinities, and she seeks a body that possesses strong magical power. She has such a body now, and with JENOVA cells now inside her..."

Vincent closed his eyes and fought the urge to curse at Dmitri. "Now she's probably the strongest magic user on the planet, and that's without the staff and without All's End Materia."

"What exactly _is_ All's End materia, anyway?" Manna asked. "We've only heard of it once or twice, but we don't know exactly what it is."

All eyes shifted to Dmitri, who cleared his throat. "All's End... Until now, there was much speculation over what exactly it was. Some speculated it would annihilate the world in one shot; yet others thought it held the power to save or destroy someone or something on a whim. It would seem, however, that All's End has the powers of possession, soul theft, and, as was more recently discovered, the ability to summon the souls of those trapped inside. Not quite the same as destroying the world, you understand. Rumors circulated that it existed somewhere on the Northern Continent, but I don't think anyone was counting on it being the crystal that Sephiroth himself was once inside."

"That crystal was materia?" Tifa said, eyes widening.

"Indeed. You recall the root formation above it? That was actually a giant Mako fountain, and the crystal was the materia that had been created over much time. Lizu, with her years and years of knowledge, probably learned of what it was, and that's why she took a piece of it for herself. It's highly likely she learned of its properties through Sephiroth, however, as no one else could have known its properties without knowing it was, in fact, All's End."

"But _someone_ knew about All's End, right?" Shelke said. "For rumors to circulate around it..."

Dmitri realized what Shelke was saying. "But who could it have been...? That's the question, and even I don't know who it could've been." He shook his head. "But no matter; what's important is that All's End is very much so real, and its powers are more than any of us may have expected."

"Dmitri..." Tifa hesitated, but continued in time. "If you had known beforehand that Lizu was the one who called JENOVA to the planet, would you have still given her the injection?"

"No. To empower her, knowing full well what she was once capable of in the past... It would have been absurd to even think of doing that. But then again, at the time we all thought JENOVA had simply descended upon the planet, ready to take it."

Silence settled among them, and Raenya broke it, clearing her throat. "Dmitri, about Project Slayer... I think we went wrong somewhere."

"Oh? Do tell."

"When I fought Lizu, I couldn't overwhelm her physically. But isn't a Slayer supposed to possess the strength to overwhelm anything? And she used Ultima once. I managed to avoid the major part of it, but the weaker parts of it taxed my body all the same."

The room fell silent again. "...Interesting. It would seem as though Project Slayer is back to square one..." he murmured. He looked up at the others. "I have shared all I know about Lizu. If you have any questions, ask me. I'll be in the laboratory for a while." He stood, nodding to each of them. "Excuse me."

Vincent trailed Dmitri with his eyes, glaring at the back of his head. "Once again, Shinra fucks us over," he growled.

Dmitri paused. "Well..." he began, "I can't deny that." He continued out of the room.

--

Lizu stepped off her staff, feet crunching into the sand below her. "Ugh... so warm here. It's not too bad at night, though..." She looked about Costa del Sol. "I think I can find the other heroes here."

"I don't understand," Sephiroth said. "Why would they be here?"

"No no, I mean I can find their locations here." She pointed to the bar. "Put on an act, make like I want to meet all the heroes. Easy enough, right?"

He began laughing. Lizu couldn't help but grin as she began walking toward the bar, staff twirling in her hand.

"I almost feel like I'm cheating again," she murmured gleefully. "This makes things too easy for us." She nodded to the bartender. "Excuse me! I've heard much about the heroes of Meteorfall, but I'm not sure where to begin looking for them! I'd very much like to meet them, thank them for saving the planet!"

The bartender smiled. "Of course. Let's see..."

She was cackling inwardly as the bartender told her that Cid Highwind spent most of his time in Rocket Town, that Barret Wallace was part of the crew to rebuild Corel, and that Nanaki led the people of Cosmo Canyon as Bugenhagen once had.

* * *

_Sorry for the delay in updating. I've had various items of varying importance come up in my life recently._

_Not big on rants today, so I'll just skip along to... the next chapter summary!_

_Next chapter, what will everyone do to bring down Lizu? _Can_ they even bring her down? Dmitri, after spending some time in the laboratory, seems to think so. -Spiritslayer_


	17. An Unexpected Visitor

Manna was laying on the bed she had been sleeping on in the last week, but couldn't fall asleep. "Shelke?"

"Is something wrong?" the former Tsviet asked.

"Can we... can we even beat her? Can we even beat Lizu? Her spirit's immortal, after all. To kill her body is to set her spirit free to possess a new one, and we'll only stall her plans. Even fighting her is really dangerous; as long as she has All's End, we're all at risk of falling as easily as everyone else has."

Shelke sighed. "I don't know. It pains me to think that she's that powerful, but the fact of the matter is that she is. We'd need a miracle to beat her, in my opinion."

"I was afraid of that..." Manna groaned. "But we don't have anything to act as a miracle... The Galian was the only one who really had half a chance against Lizu, and with that option gone..."

Shelke bristled slightly, imagining what would have happened if the Galian had never... "...Vincent considers his demons a curse, but against All's End, it's really a blessing. It gives Vincent another chance."

"But the Galian's the only one that forces transformations; it was willing to sacrifice itself to All's End to allow Vincent to continue fighting. His others aren't so willing, however..."

Shelke thought back to Chaos. "...If only Vincent hadn't lost Chaos a year ago..." she murmured.

--

Dmitri rubbed his forehead wearily, examining the now-dead mouse before him. "Well, this is bad..." he murmured to himself, picking up the body and moving it aside. He removed the gloves from his hands and let a heavy sigh escape him.

"Dmitri, perhaps you should get some sleep?" Raenya offered, making him jump.

"I forgot you were in here as well..." Her words began to make him aware of his own physical limitations and he had to stifle a yawn. "I can't sleep. Not just yet. I need to figure out where I went wrong..."

Raenya stepped toward the weary scientist and rested a hand upon his shoulder. "Perhaps some sleep will help you concentrate; you've been awake for three days straight, after all."

"This is nothing," he said unconvincingly. "I've stayed awake for two weeks before, remember?"

"That's impossible. No sleep after eleven days would kill a normal man."

"I'm not a normal man, Raenya, remember? JENOVA cells do wonders for the 'normal man'."

"Don't abuse that, Dmitri. Get some rest, and try again later."

"I'm onto something, and to give it up now for sleep is pointless. I can sleep after I've figured it out."

She watched as he continued working, watched as his eyes closed and opened slower than normal. He definitely wasn't blinking anymore. "Your body demands sleep, Dmitri," she said matter-of-factly.

"And it will get sleep as soon as I figure this out," was his reply.

"So you're going to torture your body to get there?" she said, unaware of the tone her voice was taking.

"I prefer to think of it as 'persevering through anything'," he said casually. "The answer's within my grasp, I just know it! But something seems to keep me from finding it! It's not the amount of sleep I've gotten, either!" He gave his hair an annoyed, frustrated ruffle. "I'm so close, I can't just give up! I need to find this now while I've got momentum going!"

"Perhaps this is something beyond your control right now, Dmitri. Some sleep should do you some good."

He paused a moment, suddenly wide awake. "...Control..." he murmured. "But... could that really be the case...?" His eyes snapped to the dead mouse, then to the live ones left over. "Raenya, I have an idea, and it just might work. I require a mouse, a jar of Mako, and the piece of All's End we possess."

She complied, unsure of what he was planning. She set the mouse in the small glass enclosure that all mice he experimented on went into, placing a jar of Mako next to him and pulling out All's End. "Dmitri, if I may... What're you thinking?"

He didn't respond, choosing instead to don a fresh pair of gloves. He placed his hands inside the rubber gloves that were part of the enclosure and roughly grabbed the mouse. "Don't be afraid," he murmured, a small smirk on his face. "This won't hurt. At least, I don't _think_ it will..."

Raenya didn't like the sounds of this.

--

The door slid open, and Manna looked to see who it was. "Hey Tifa," she said, waving to the martial artist.

She nodded to Manna, then to Shelke. "Hey. Mind if I join you two?" She gave a small jerk of her head down the corridor. "Vince is asleep."

They both shook their heads, and Tifa slipped inside, closing the door behind her. "So what's up?" Manna asked.

"I don't know if we'll ever see our friends again... Lizu's powerful, and she has Sephiroth's help. She's invincible with him, and taking her staff from her makes it easier to fight her. But even then, if we try fighting her, we have to find some way to kill her spirit too, or she'll just possess someone new and start this all over again."

"We were just discussing that," Shelke began, "and we can't think of any way to gain an advantage against her. Further, whenever we fight her, it's always at a disadvantage, given Sephiroth's barrier and her piece of All's End."

"All's End..." Tifa had a sudden idea. "In theory, we could remove her soul with it, right? Trap her inside there?"

"There's still the issue of Sephiroth," Shelke reminded her. "He's possessed her body before; if she has her soul removed, we still have to fight him. And no doubt only Cloud could take _him_ down, for that matter."

Tifa thought of her childhood friend and clenched her fists, angry at both Lizu and herself. "She's caused hell for so many people already... I just hope that Cid, Barret and Nanaki can stay safe. She _is_ after us heroes of Meteorfall, after all; if she gets them, it's pretty much over for everyone."

Manna and Shelke couldn't find words to argue this, and instead found themselves nodding in agreement, however much they didn't want to.

"All hope is lost for us," Tifa whispered. "Unless Project Slayer has some true success, we don't even have a fighting chance against her."

--

She laughed, looking at the man before her. "Wow, I had _no idea_ you were so easy to irk!" she said, still laughing.

The man's chrome hand shifted to a gun-arm, and Barret Wallace began to fire at her relentlessly. "If yer business is with me, then leave the rest of the town outta this!" he roared at her.

The bullets from his gun-arm ricocheted off the barrier surrounding her, and she smirked, twirling her staff. "But you see, this was the best way to force you into the open easily," Lizu sneered. She ceased the twirl and charged at him.

He continued firing at her, primarily out of pure anger. "All ya had to do was ask, ya damned bitch!"

"Oh dear. One of your other friends called me a bitch too, and you know what happened to her?" she said, giving a mock sigh. She gave a twisted grin. "She got her soul removed. I tell you, ninja nowadays can't do anything right..."

Barret's face contorted with rage, and he roared in frustration at her, choosing to charge a shot and aim it at her. He fired the blast at her, glaring at her.

She wasn't expecting the blast to make Sephiroth's barrier waver violently, however. Her own eyes went wide at the sight unfolding before her, and she brought the staff up in front of her to shield herself as best she could.

The blast eventually dissipated, and she looked at the spot where it had vanished in wonder. "But..." she whispered. She looked at Barret and smirked. "A pity. You might have been one of the few 'heroes of Meteorfall' left that could actually stop me." She vanished from his view.

He looked about quickly, face still contorted with rage. "Quit hiding, ya damn pussy-bitch!" he shouted.

_'Pussy-bitch'?_ she thought, surpressing a laugh. She rose the staff's orb to his eye level from behind him. "What the hell's a 'pussy-bitch'?" she said.

He wheeled around to face her, his gun-arm whipping around with him.

"Peekaboo," she said teasingly.

The orb flashed once in his eyes.

--

"Hey, you sure this is the right way?" the first man asked his companion.

The second man gave a silent nod. "Pretty sure."

The first rolled his eyes. "But not 'satisfaction guaranteed or your money back' sure?"

The second man said nothing in response.

"Yo, we're down here," the first man said into a com unit. "What now? Admire the crappy architecture of Midgar Underground?"

"No," a third man's voice said over the com. "You see the reactor before you?"

Both men turned to face the reactor. "Yeah. Kinda hard to miss something that big, you know. I think we're still a good ways away from it, though."

Their attention was drawn by a sudden clanging noise, and both turned rapidly to face their third companion.

A woman winced, giving them an apologetic look. "Sorry. I didn't know that was loose."

"Tch, you're always careless," the first man said. He gave his neck a small crack, looking at the reactor again.

"What was that?" the man on the com said.

"Ah, she's just being a klutz. Nothing too big."

"Hey! I'm not a klutz!" she shot back.

He ignored her. "So, what about that reactor? Isn't that Mako Reactor Zero? Y'know, where all that crazy shit went down a year ago?"

"It is," a fourth voice said over the com unit. "Listen carefully. You are to investigate it, see if you can find anything that would lead to Deepground regimes elsewhere on the planet. If you run across any hostiles, defend yourselves as you see fit."

"And I'm guessing we won't find any friendlies in this Shiva-forsaken place," the first man muttered. "So investigate the reactor's interior, kill any hostiles. Cool, sounds like a blast." He looked to his two companions. "Hey, let's get going, eh? Longer we stick around here, the longer it'll take for us to get that vacation he promised us."

"Is that all you can think about?" she sighed. "Seriously... this is a job that's to be taken serious!"

"It's hard to take it serious when I keep imagining you in a bikini," he said, winking at her.

She fought the urge to slap him for being so open in his flirting. "Let's just go," she snapped, unexpectedly taking the lead.

--

Lizu examined the orb of her staff. "Hm... Sephiroth, what did he hit the barrier with?"

"I have no idea. Whatever it was, if he used more of it, he could've definitely shattered the barrier."

She shuddered at the thought, then looked at Barret's body. "Well, no big deal. I've taken his soul, so I'm safe from him and whatever he used." She grinned. "One down, two to go. Then I can keep looking for Valentine and Lockheart." She set off in the general direction of Cosmo Canyon.

"We draw closer and closer to our goal with each step you take, with each soul you remove."

"I know. It's exciting to think about." She pondered a small notion that had been nagging at her for a while. "Say, Sephiroth? Can't you obtain a new body now?"

"It's... complicated," he said vaguely. "You don't have to worry yourself it, Lizu; I'll tell you when the time is right for it."

"Again with the whole 'the right time' thing?" she sighed. "Well, I guess I can wait." She gave her staff a half spin, placing her foot upon the inner crescent. Sephiroth provided a potent Float spell, and she found herself drifting along at faster speeds than normal. "Four to go."

--

"Man... This place reeks..." the first man complained, holding his nose. "What the hell crawled down here and died, eh?"

"Shut up," she said firmly. "You're overreacting." She gave the air a small sniff. "It's not _that_ bad."

"Says the one whose sense of smell was shot sometime last month," he muttered in reply. He looked at his other companion. "What about you?"

The second man shook his head. "Reeks."

"_Thank_ you," the first man said triumphantly, a smirk setting on his face. It vanished, however, as he realized they had to go further into the reactor. "If it reeks out here, I don't even wanna know what it's gonna smell like further in," he said, cringing at the thought.

"Think of something different," she suggested, leading the way once again.

"Alrighty. Hm..." A twisted smile appeared on his face. "Hey, yo. You look damn good _without_ a bikini on."

She glared at him. "Leave me out of your sick dreams, for Ramuh's sake," she seethed. "You make one more crack about me like that, you'll become acquainted with the Lifestream at the bottom of this reactor, capiche?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." He took this threat to heart, however, knowing full well she would and probably could do it.

They eventually reached an elevator shaft, and the first man scratched his head. "Think someone's home?"

She pressed the call button and shrugged. "Who knows. That's what we're investigating, right?"

"I guess so." He pressed the button on the com unit lazily. "Yo, we've reached an elevator shaft."

"And?"

"The elevator itself is on its way up now."

A pause met his ears, then... "So someone _is_ down there. Be on your guard, all of you. No telling who could be down there."

"Or _what_," the first man said. He released the button and grinned at her.

"I said leave me out of your sick dreams," she snapped, meeting his eyes and glaring with enough intensity to make even the second man feel uneasy.

"Hey, I didn't say anything," he said. "Oh, loophole for the win." He cowered under her newfound glare, however, and muttered something about 'unfair advantage'.

The elevator reached them, and the first man waved an arm before him. "Ladies first."

"Then I guess we're waiting on you," she said, smirking at him.

"Oh, that's rich," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. All three of them stepped onto the elevator, the second man wondering why he had to put up with their nonsense.

"Goin' down," the first man said, pressing the 'Down' button.

--

Dmitri froze. "Someone's using the elevator," he said. He looked at Raenya. "Check on it, would you?"

She nodded, praying to whatever divine being that it wasn't Lizu. "I... I'll be back," she stumbled over her words.

"Be careful."

She stepped outside, tonfa in hand. She walked quietly but quickly toward the elevator.

It was descending when she arrived, forcing her to make some quick decisions. She moved off to the side and watched the elevator closely, gripping her tonfa tight.

Three people came into view, all of them looking around. "Huh, seems just as drab as the rest of the place," one man said.

"What'd you expect?" the woman said. "You really thought this would be much better than the rest of it?"

The first man shrugged.

The second man, however, was looking in her direction. "Company over there," he said, cracking his knuckles.

Raenya froze for a moment, then decided to step out into the open. "...Are you with Lizu?" she asked.

The first man looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Who the hell's Lizu?"

Raenya sighed, lowering her tonfa. "I guess not. You'd be considered friends, then." She gave a small bow of her head. "My name is Raenya Azurelight. If you could follow me, I can introduce you to everyone else who's down here."

The first man opened his mouth to speak, but the woman nodded. "Fair enough. Any chance any of them will attack us?"

"Very doubtful, I think."

The first man spoke into his com unit hushedly, then, after a few moments...

"Follow her. If she means you no harm, then her companions are likely to be just as accepting."

She wondered to the voice, knowing it sounded familiar. "...This way," she said uncertainly.

As they walked down the corridor, she suddenly remembered the name. She stopped dead in her tracks and faced them. "...Rufus Shinra? That voice was Rufus Shinra?" She looked at each of them. "Who are you three?"

The first man grinned. "The Turks. Name's Reno. This is Rude, and this is Elena." He gave a casual bow.

* * *

_Well, the Turks have made an unexpected appearance._

_Yes, Barret's been defeated, too. Which, for Lizu, is good; Barret had the capability to crush Sephiroth's barrier, given enough effort. All other attacks just kind of... bounce off. Why Barret has this capability... Eh, doesn't matter much, not given his situation._

_Next chapter, the appearance of the Turks makes some of the 'Anti-Lizu Crew' uncomfortable. Will they ultimately help in the battle against Lizu? And if not, can Dmitri's new idea help them? -Spiritslayer_


	18. Reunion

Dmitri glanced over his shoulder as the door opened, quickly shifting his eyes back to the mouse upon seeing who it was. "It's been a while," he said, a grin slipping to his face.

"Hey, if it ain't old man Aeon!" Reno chuckled. "Guess JENOVA cells keep you going strong, huh?"

"Strong, no. Keep me going, yes." He momentarily stopped what he was doing and turned his head to face Rude and Elena, giving both a nod. "You three look well. Tseng is alright, I take it? I heard rumors that he was wounded fairly bad four years ago."

Elena shifted a little uncomfortably, but nodded. "He's fine now. As is the president."

"I take it you refer to Rufus Shinra, not his father. Last I checked, the latter was pinned to his chair with a sword sticking out his back." He turned back to the mouse and resumed working. "So what brings you three to Midgar Underground?"

"Hm... should we tell you...?" Reno wondered aloud.

Elena rolled her eyes. "There's no harm in it; Dmitri's Shinra too, you know. He's a director, for that matter, and always has been."

"Not always," Dmitri reminded her. "I had to start somewhere, but that's not the point."

"Anyway, we're down here to investigate the Deepground incident a year ago. We realize it's a bit late, but we're... what do I want to say..."

"Investigating the aftermath of the uprising?" Raenya offered.

"Yeah, that's it. The president is worried that there may be other militant groups that only his father knew about, and he'd like to find out before another incident like Deepground occurs. The rest of the world's already felt repercussions from Deepground, and it's been a year since then; the uprising of another group would devastate the world, we're sure of it."

Dmitri nodded, primarily to show he was still listening. "It sounds right. But the fact of the matter is that there was only Deepground; Professor Hojo and myself had a hand in that, so naturally we knew about it. It was another matter altogether when they rose up, however, and I took care to hide myself until it boiled over." He gave the mouse a fierce poke with an electrified needle, trying to keep it from squirming as it was. "And seeing whereas Hojo was the actual _director_ of the two of us, he would've known about any other mystery groups."

"And he didn't?" Reno asked. "Don't sound right to me."

"It didn't sound right to me either, but I located all of his files in the old Shinra database. Everything, from the little successes with the JENOVA Project to just about every other little thing he's ever done or recorded."

"And what if he didn't record the information on any other hidden groups?" Reno challenged.

Dmitri chuckled. "He recorded all work and progress with Deepground, and they were supposed to remain top secret. But there's nothing on any other hidden groups; just Deepground."

"At least, nothing you've found," Elena said simply.

"Exactly. Just because Hojo didn't record any information on other groups doesn't necessarily mean there are no others. I'm reasonably sure, however, that there's nothing else to worry about here."

"How can you be so confident?" Raenya asked. "It sounds like there may be something else to worry about here, especially if the president--"

"He only wants to alleviate the fears that there may be others out there that could throw the world into utter chaos," Reno interrupted. "In short, he's covering his ass before it's blown off."

The scientist coughed, though the Turks could've sworn the 'cough' was actually a small laugh.

"So... enough about us. What's up with you?" Reno asked casually. "Working on that 'Project Slayer' or whatever it was called?"

"I am, and I'm very close to taking the first major step with it." He gave a small jerk of his head toward the enclosure separating the mouse from the rest of them. "If this doesn't work, then I don't know what to do, but this _should_ work."

Raenya watched intently as Dmitri worked, then looked at the Turks. "We should leave him be," she finally said, "let him concentrate."

"Yeah, yeah." Reno walked out of the laboratory, followed a moment later by Elena.

Rude cleared his throat. "What exactly are you doing?"

"That's none of your business; only Raenya needs to know."

"The president might argue otherwise."

"Mm."

"If he does, you realize we'll find out sooner or later, right?"

"..."

Rude turned to the door and walked out.

Dmitri glanced over his shoulder at the door. "That entails me being alive after this fiasco with Lizu is over," he muttered.

Raenya wasn't sure what to say in response to this, but decided it was best not to push the issue. "Dmitri..." She stepped out of the laboratory and closed the door behind her, ready to lead the Turks along to the rest of their makeshift group.

--

"This almost feels wrong, but I just have to remember who and what he is," Lizu said, smirking at the sleeping, orange-furred beast before her. She leveled the staff's orb with his closed eyes.

"Indeed. You just need to make sure he's actually asleep, though."

Lizu suddenly found herself pinned to the floor, the beast snarling at her. She went to move her staff, but found it difficult to do; the beast had pinned the staff to the floor as well. "So you were awake," she mused.

"You aren't him, but there's a definitive similarity," Nanaki said, stepping off of her and stepping onto the staff to secure it to the floor.

"I know. I get that a lot, but I don't mind it." She stood and gave him a small bow. "My name is Lizu. You must be Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon." She bent over to pick the staff up, and looked up at him. "If you'd be so kind as to step off my staff."

"I think not. There's a wickedness emanating from it, one that feels strangely familiar."

"_I'd hope you recognize that 'wickedness'_," Sephiroth's voice echoed through the room.

The voice sent chills running up and down Nanaki's spine, but he masked it exceptionally well. "I thought that was the case, but I didn't want to believe it at first."

She sighed, shaking her head. "Look, step off my staff, and I won't have to hurt you. Fair?" she added almost innocently, bringing her left palm to her chest. She began focusing magic into her palm.

"Normally I'd have no qualms with it, but no good can come of him. So go on, try and hurt me with your petty magics."

The word 'petty' seemed to strike a nerve with Lizu, and the Ice3 spell she had been working on fired off prematurely. The sudden impact of the ice sent her flying backward, and she gasped heavily as she slammed into the wall behind her. She fell to the floor, gasping for breath.

Nanaki watched, stepping off the staff long enough to clamp his mouth around the handle of it. He picked it up and, after a few adjustments, had it held fast in his mouth. He turned away from her and walked out the door, leaving her alone.

"W...wait..." she gasped.

--

"Man, what the hell? Why's this punk here?" Reno groaned, looking at the sleeping form of Vincent.

"That doesn't matter. All that does matter is that he's in the fight against Lizu."

"Who _is _Lizu, anyway? You mentioned her earlier."

"She's an enemy, one infused with JENOVA cells. Her strength is comparable to Sephiroth's, and she seems driven to accomplish what he started four years ago, or something along those lines." She gestured her hand to the door, casting a nasty look at Reno. "Leave him be. If there's one thing I've learned about Valentine in the time we've been down here, it's that you don't wake him unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Fine, fine." Reno cast a final look at the ex-Turk, then turned away, walking out of the room.

Raenya made sure all three of them were out of the room, especially Reno, before she closed the door.

She didn't want to be the one to pick up his entrails if he decided to wake Vincent as a prank.

--

Lizu slammed her right fist against the wall. "Dammit!" she shouted angrily, standing as quickly as she could. She looked to the door and rushed outside. "_No one takes my staff and gets away with it_!" She began her search for Nanaki and, more importantly, her staff.

Ten minutes later, she was near the entrance to Cosmo Canyon, looking around quickly. She didn't hear the silent padding behind her.

"You won't find it now," she heard Nanaki say.

She wheeled around, glaring daggers at him. "_What'd you do with my staff_?" she seethed furiously. "_Where is it_?"

"If I told you that, it'd defeat the whole purpose of hiding it in the first place."

She clenched her right fist and lunged recklessly at him. "Give it back, dammit!" she shouted.

He sidestepped the obvious attack and countered with a savage headbutt to her side. "As I said earlier," he began, leaping toward the now-staggering Lizu, "no good can come of him. And with that in mind, no good can come of you wielding that staff, either."

She gasped for breath once more, winded by the headbutt he had just slammed into her stomach. She clutched her left side with her right hand, her forearm shielding her stomach from any future blows. "N... no fair..." she gasped.

"But it's perfectly fair to attack someone while they sleep? At least you're awake and aware of your foe; I didn't exactly have that leisure earlier."

"A hero of Meteorfall doesn't deserve the 'fair' treatment," she said, slowly straightening up, hand still on her left side. Her breathing was hurried, but she was slowly recovering.

"So this is about all of us," he said. "Tell me, how many of the others have you been to see already?"

She smirked. "I've been to see Strife, Kisaragi, Wallace, Tuesti, Valentine and Lockheart already. Four of those six have had their souls removed, one's still got his soul because of a special condition, and the last one was spared that fate by some 'Slayer'."

He closed his eyes slowly, then opened them again. "And you intended to make me the next target."

"Wrong." Her breathing was normal now, and she lifted her left hand, focusing magic into her palm once more. She pointed her palm at him this time, however. "You _are_ the next target; no _intention_ whatsoever."

He focused momentarily on the magic building around her hand, then focused magic of his own into the headdress on his head. "That entails you actually surviving this encounter, you realize."

She unleashed the Ice3 spell she had been preparing, and watched in horror as he unleashed Fire3. The flames melted the ice entirely away, and in time, the fires died out too. But it wasn't the fact that he had countered her magic that had unsettled her.

_This mutt's faster at casting than I am?_ she wondered, worried about her well-being through this fight. _He'll keep me on my toes, that's for certain. If only he didn't take my staff from me, I would've had this fight much earlier..._

He observed her tense expression and readied himself for a pounce. "Give up, and I'll spare your life."

"Will I get my staff back that way?"

"Don't be absurd."

She clenched her fists and unclenched them, raw magic filling both palms. "Then there's no point in giving up!" she shouted at him, pointing both palms at him.

--

"Oh no..." Tifa groaned. "What're _they_ doing here?"

Reno smirked cockily. "What, I thought we were buddy-buddy," he laughed. "We're not?"

Her mind flicked back to what the man before her had done to Sector 7, just to destroy AVALANCHE. "Not... exactly," she said carefully.

"Aw, now I'm hurt," he joked.

Manna and Shelke looked at the three Turks, neither one recognizing them. "...Who are you?" Shelke finally asked.

"Heh." Reno ruffled a hand through his hair, still smirking. "Not your concern, kid. We're just down here investigating something."

Shelke's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm not a 'kid'," she said defensively. "I'll have you know I'm twenty-one years old."

He scoffed. "Just who are you trying to kid?"

Elena rolled her eyes. "The loudmouth's Reno. This is Rude, and I'm Elena." She gave a small nod to Manna and Shelke. "The Turks of Shinra."

Manna's jaw dropped. "Turks? Here? But why? And for that matter, isn't Shinra...?"

Reno gave it a little thought, and eventually smirked. "Yeah, Shinra's pretty much done for. We survived, though, as did the new boss, and as you can see, old man Aeon survived as well."

"New boss?" Tifa repeated.

Reno ignored Tifa, and instead looked back at Raenya. "So why'd you show us everyone else? We're only here to look into that matter, after all."

"Then... Lizu didn't force you down here?" Tifa asked slowly.

"Oh please. Someone like her, _force_ us down here? We've never heard of her until Raenya here told us about her, much less _seen _her."

Tifa opened her mouth to speak, but gave what Reno had just said some thought. She closed her mouth slowly. "Could... it be she's... not on this continent anymore...?" she wondered aloud.

"So you won't join us in our battle against Lizu?" Raenya asked the Turks.

"Pfft... Hell no. We're not on orders to fight her, much less help anyone we find down here; course we're not gonna help out." Reno smirked at the four of them individually, crossing his arms and fixing his eyes with Tifa's. The two of them seemed to be trying to stare down the other.

"Alright, alright. Enough of the glaring match," they heard from behind Rude's back.

They all focused their attention on Dmitri, who was standing in the doorway, hands clasped behind his back. "Dmitri? Does this mean you're done?" Raenya asked hopefully.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes."

"And... did you succeed?"

He hesitated a moment, then took a deep breath. "Project Slayer... has failed."

--

"Ugh..." Lizu groaned, right hand clutching the bite wound on her left shoulder. He had brought Lizu to her knees, and she glared up at Nanaki as best she could in her exhausted state. "Damn you to hell..."

He carefully scratched a small itch behind his ear, looking at Lizu the whole time. "Now will you give up this pointless battle? You'll never force the staff's location out of me, even if threaten to remove my soul. I've fought you thus far with that in mind, knowing full well what could happen to me if I wasn't careful."

"Argh, if I could remove your soul right now, I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place!" she snapped.

A look of realization dawned on him. "Then, more than ever, you cannot be allowed to have your staff back. It houses the most fearsome enemy the world's ever known, it's capable of removing souls... And as far as I can tell, it houses the souls of my other friends."

Lizu wanted to slap herself for saying too much. She wasn't sure of what to say, so she settled for saying nothing.

"Surrender, and I'll let you walk away. Persist, and I'll be forced to kill you to protect the world from you." He readied himself for a pounce.

She tried standing, but fell back to her knees; he had managed to knock her around too much for her body to handle right now. She looked at him again, hatred pouring out of her eyes. "Then kill me, if you can," she sneered.

"As you wish." He leapt at her with surprising speed, jaws opened and aimed for her throat.

A sudden slashing noise was heard, and Nanaki collided with Lizu, howling in pain. His blood sprayed from a fresh wound in his back.

Lizu wondered for a moment what had caused it. She pushed the beast off her and looked past him, gasping.

"_You can only hide me for so long, vermin,_" Sephiroth's voice echoed around them, the staff's orb glowing vividly. The blades running alongside the back of the crescent were glistening with blood.

Nanaki turned his head to face the floating staff.

"_Begone._"

The orb flashed once.

* * *

_Wow, it's been a fair while since I last updated. The fact is, though, that I was stumped on the next chapter (this one). No worries, however; it's up!_

_I haven't given up on this; quite the contrary, I have the next two chapters ready for updating. Truthfully, I've been obsessed, more or less, with Soul Calibur IV; I picked it up less than a week ago (or maybe a little later than that, I don't remember), and I've always been a fan of the Soul Calibur franchise. I will take this opportunity, however, to say that Soul Calibur III actually disappointed me; it lacked something, and I don't know what it is; the character creation part of it made it seem, at first glance, better than Soul Calibur II. Ironically, I play Soul Calibur II more often than I do III, but IV trumps both. I have the XBox 360 version, and will, at this point, say that Yoda is horrifyingly broken against every other foe. I've said that it's practically impossible to throw the little bugger, and nothing I do seems to prove otherwise! Worse, Yoda's the only one that undermines Cervantes, who happens to be my best character! It gets aggravating, but I've beaten Yoda; I suppose I'd have to sooner or later._

_I have four original fighters in IV, and the way I tend to pair them off in the Tower of Lost Souls has me thinking up storylines behind each and every one of them. My most developed character uses Cervantes' style to devastating effect. Her companion borrows Siegfried's style, and he's pretty deadly in and around himself. Then, the other duo sees my third character using Astaroth's style; pair such a rough style up with high, high attack power (talking close to maxed) and high, high HP (again, close to maxed), and he's easily a fiend in and around himself. His usual companion uses Mitsurugi, which, I regret to say, is one of my weaker styles, but paired with skills like Shave Damage A and Venom Fang B (trying to get this to Venom Fang A), she's no pushover herself. But, when I put a story behind each fighter, it makes them seem almost like they have an actual role in the main storyline, and that makes it pretty fun. I've started thinking of a story I can write using each of them, and it has promise thus far._

_...Can't you tell I've become obsessed with Soul Calibur IV? Seriously?_

_Next chapter, even despite Project Slayer's utter failure, can this team hope to pull off a win? And can they do it before Lizu learns where they are and preempts them? Tune in next week to find out! (Yes, **Emilee-san**, this is, more or less, giving in to your peer pressure via your messages; relish this moment) -Spiritslayer_


	19. The Final Battle, Prelude

Vincent watched as Reno and Tifa argued about something. He wasn't sure what they were arguing about, nor did he really care; as long as it didn't get physical, he knew it was fine to leave them be.

"Alright kids, time to settle down," Dmitri mused, gesturing to the chairs around the table that had since become the 'conference table'.

Both Tifa and Reno looked at Dmitri as though he were crazy, then they realized that he was, truly, old enough to be the father of anyone here, except for Vincent. They stopped arguing and sat down opposite one another. Vincent put a reassuring arm around Tifa.

"Right, now that you two are done," Dmitri began, "it's time to begin our meeting."

"Uh, excuse me," Reno interrupted. "Why in hell are the three of us being forced to sit here?" He gestured to Elena, who was seated next to Manna, and then to Rude, who was at his right side. "It's not like we're helping you in the fight against Lizu or anything."

"I know this, and I have orders for you. If, when you return to the surface, you see Lizu, contact me directly; Elena has my phone number." He looked at her as though to reaffirm this comment, and she nodded. "You won't play a part in the actual battle; all you have to do is give us the heads-up."

"Pfft... fine." Reno knew better than to argue the authority that Dmitri held as the director of the Chemical Research Branch. He also knew that Dmitri and Rufus had been in contact since the day before, and assumed Rufus had approved of this.

"Alright. Now, yesterday, the three Turks arrived here on orders of their new boss. For security reasons, I've been asked not to disclose who this is, and it's not like I'd say anyway."

Tifa looked annoyed at this comment, absolutely dying to find out who it was since the day before.

"They more or less confirmed Tifa's suspicion that Lizu is no longer on this continent, which likely means she's moved on to the remaining heroes of Meteorfall. The fall of Barret Wallace has been confirmed by a reliable source on the surface, and he's been confirmed soulless."

Tifa squirmed uncomfortably, and Vincent hugged her a little tighter, as though to comfort her.

"She was last seen outside Gongaga, according to my source, which means she's either making her move against Nanaki or already has. This leaves one more until Lockheart and Valentine are the only two left. At the rate she moves, she's likely on her way to Rocket Town or already there, fighting Cid Highwind."

--

Cid spun his spear around once, glaring at Lizu. "Hey, ya silver-haired whore! Leave the town outta this!"

"Oh my, I've heard that line before. Wallace used that too, and it didn't get him very far." Lizu smirked at him. "If your phrases are any indicator of your fighting style, I'll be done quickly." She began twirling her staff.

The name 'Wallace' didn't seem to ring any bells with Cid Highwind, however, and he snorted. "Who the fuck's Wallace?"

"Oh, loud, obnoxious man. Bit of a gunner, though that's mainly owing to his gun-arm."

Cid swore so loudly that Shera would have normally killed him for it. "You..." He ran toward Lizu defensively, spear at the ready.

"Me. And we haven't been properly introduced yet, have we? My name's Lizu." She gave a small bow of her head, still twirling her staff.

"Cid Highwind! Though there was really no reason to say that, since I'm about to kill you!" He gave a vicious stab of his spear.

It wasn't until he thrust the spear toward her that she realized this wouldn't be such an easy fight after all. She tried blocking it, but the spear simply slid along the curve of her staff's handle and continued its path toward her shoulder. She jumped back and managed to avoid it.

"This is going to be fun," she said, grinning at him.

--

"Once her business with Highwind is through, she's likely to return here, seeing whereas this was the last place she saw you two. If she doesn't return immediately, it means something else is going on that we're not aware of."

Shelke cleared her throat. "I can watch out for her on the surface, using my transparency to hide from her view."

"No good. If she finds you, you're done for." Dmitri gave her an almost apologetic look. "The offer is appreciated, but you're necessary in the battle against her; to risk losing you before she's defeated is a greater risk in and around itself."

"Then... who's going to keep an eye out for her?" Manna asked, eyes flicking to the Turks. "Those three aren't going to help us in any way, and they've already made that clear. And we don't have surveillance equipment to use."

A silence settled around the table. "I'll be keeping an eye out for her," Dmitri finally said. "Of all of us, I'm the only one she hasn't seen in combat. She knows me, and it's highly likely, though not guaranteed, that she'll spare my life and soul if she finds me. Once I go to the surface, Raenya will be in charge of the group; you are to follow her orders as though they were my own."

Raenya looked troubled, but nodded. "The two of us have already discussed his decision, and we both agree it's best that he go. I will, as his second-in-command, take over as head of the group if something befalls him, or when he gives us the alert to Lizu's presence."

"Now, I'll lay out the basic combat plan. In the fight against Lizu, Raenya may choose to change it up somewhere; do not argue her ideas if she does." He stood from his chair and clasped his hands behind his back, beginning a slow pace from one side of the room to the other. "The combat procedure isn't dissimilar to the plan to steal her staff from her; Raenya will take point, Valentine will provide suppressive fire once more. However, this time we're not aiming to simply steal her staff from her; this time, we're seeking to take the materia from her and, as much as I hate lost research, kill her. With this in mind, Manna will be the one stealing the staff this time; she's had previous training in combat with staves before, so she's best suited for taking the staff and wielding it."

Raenya nodded, and Vincent gave a small sigh almost resembling resignation. Manna, however, gave a sharp nod, her attention fully on the meeting.

"Lockheart, once Manna has Lizu's staff, she's susceptible to melee combat. It's at this point that you will join the fray against her. Try and take her back if you can; this way, Lizu will have a battle on three sides." He looked at Shelke. "This leaves you, Miss Rui. While she's occupied with Manna, Lockheart and Raenya, you'll watch for her to pull out the materia. When she does this, one of the three will attempt to knock it out of her hand and to the ground. If none of them do, take the initiative and do it yourself. Your ultimate objective is to seize the materia from Lizu and take it away from her. Thus, robbed of both critical weapons, Lizu's much, much easier to kill."

Reno snorted. "Seems almost cowardly."

Tifa cast him an intimidating glare. "You haven't fought her, and you don't know what she's capable of. We do, and that's why we're planning like this. It's because she isn't to be handled alone; that is practically suicide in and around itself."

Vincent cleared his throat. "So, with three separate attackers on Lizu, what am I going to be doing? Suppressive fire won't be necessary at that point, and I risk shooting one of the three on her."

"If Manna feels as though fighting with a staff is too dangerous to her allies in this fight, she's to bring the staff to you, and the two of you are to figure out which part of the staff Sephiroth is dwelling in. Similarly, you'll also work with Miss Rui to release the souls from the materia. It works along the same lines as a summon materia, but think of it in reverse; you don't want to summon the souls trapped inside, but you want to free them. It's easier than it sounds, especially if I can do it."

"And what will you be doing during all this?"

"I will stand by with a small, hidden sliver of All's End. Recall, if you will, that Lizu's soul is immortal; killing her physical body only sets her spirit free, and she goes off to possess someone new. I'll keep an eye on her condition as she fights, and when I feel she's almost dead, I'll move in and remove her soul, trapping it inside All's End. Then, the finishing blow will be dealt to her body."

Silence settled around the table once more. "Any questions?" Dmitri asked.

No one answered him, and he stopped pacing. He placed his hands on the back of his chair and looked at each of them. "There are many things that can go wrong with this, you understand. She may attack me upon finding me. She may manage to kill one or more of us. She may not have the All's End materia on her. Sephiroth might have a consistent barrier around her. There are too many variables, but this plan is, without a doubt, the best-case scenario we have before us. Worst case scenario, the task of crushing Lizu is left to one of our numbers, and that one is critically wounded. With that in mind, remember what I said about Raenya being in charge once this operation gets underway. If she changes the plan even a little, you are to listen to her; it could be the deciding factor in the fight against Lizu. If she orders everyone to attack all at once, obey without question and pick your method of attack and place of attack carefully. If..." He paused for a moment. "If she orders a retreat, then you are to retreat. No questions asked, no complaining from any of you. Do as she orders, and the fight should go without a hitch."

Raenya seemed uncomfortable with such heavy responsibility, but she nodded regardless. "My first order, and this is more common sense than anything," she said, "is that everyone is to rest up well. You need to be in peak condition for this fight against Lizu; do not spend time training or practicing, as this takes time from your resting. Trust in your abilities and prepare yourselves mentally for this fight. Physically, Dmitri's the only one who needs to improve, and that's owing largely to age."

Dmitri nodded, completely ignoring the accidental insult. "A wise decision, and it's one best followed. Now then, I'm still in charge for now. If there are no questions..."

They remained silent, each thinking of their individual task.

"Then this meeting is adjourned." Dmitri clasped his hands behind his back and turned around on the spot, facing the wall opposite the door. Numerous chairs scraped along the floor and he heard the door open. A hand found its way upon both of his.

"Dmitri... are we even completely ready for this?" Raenya asked him, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "Even though Project Slayer was a failure, we're still going for it..."

"Perhaps Project Slayer was never meant to be," he said softly. "I'm content with what I've procured for results, however, and I have the utmost confidence this plan will work without fail."

"We'll... we'll all make it through this, right?" she whispered, closing her eyes. "You, me, Lockheart, Valentine, Rui, my sister... We'll all survive this, right?"

"With luck, my dear. With luck."

--

Cid reeled from the impact of her staff's swing against his side, but managed to keep the blades from biting into him. He countered with a swift thrust, once again managing to pierce her with the spear's tip. "You're in over your head, dammit, so give up already! I _might_ just spare you if you do give up!"

"I don't want you pity," she said, gripping the spear's body and holding it fast, preventing him from withdrawing it from her body. "Besides, I've just countered your style."

He gave the spear a sudden wrench backward. "Oh yeah?"

She was jerked along with it, but managed to stay on her feet. She held the staff's tip up to his face. "Yeah."

It flashed once, and she smirked. "There. Two more to go."

"Whaddaya mean, two more?!" she heard him bark.

"Wha--" she began, but it was too late; the spear slid through her hands and out her body. She staggered slightly, looking at him in bewilderment. "But... how did you...?"

"Man, that thing's bright, even behind my eyelids." He pointed the spear at her, rubbing his eyes with the back of his left hand. "I'm seein' spots 'cause of that damn light show."

_So he managed to close his eyes before the materia could act,_ she thought. She took advantage of the massive opening he had given her and rushed him, driving her knee into his chest. He staggered backward, swore loudly, and seized his spear, eyes open and ablaze. She held the staff up behind her head and grinned at him, closing the distance between their faces quickly. "I win."

"What do you mean, you win?!"

She shifted her head so the staff's orb was in his view, and it flashed once. "That's what I mean, I win."

Cid slumped to the ground, and she gave him a careful prod with her right foot. She brought it from prods to gentle kicks, then gave him full-blown, vicious kicks.

"Hah. That's that. Now, two more to go." She smirked, twirling the staff casually. "Say, do you have any idea where they could be?"

"I suspect they're still around Midgar or something of the sort. They'd probably be too afraid to move around knowing you could be anywhere."

"Hm... Well, I guess I can ask someone for help there." She jabbed the bottom of the staff into the ground near Cid's body and looked into the orb. "Release the demon for me, would you dear? It's been a while since the Galian and I have had a chat."

The demon was before her moments later, and she grinned. "Evening, Galian. I trust you find the orb comfortable?"

"_**Rot in hell**_."

"Ooh, still a fiesty one, I see. Well, not that it matters. I have a question for you."

"_**I'm not answering.**_"

"Heh." She charged a Bolt3 spell on her hand and pressed it against the demon's image, knowing full well the demon's spirit was feeling the effects. "You don't have a choice in the matter. So just tell me, and I'll stop bugging you." She pulsed electricity out her hands to the Galian. "Now then..."

The demon gave her a menacing look through the pain it was undoubtedly experiencing.

"Where are Tifa Lockheart and Vincent Valentine hiding?"

The demon glared at her as though she were insane. "_**I'd never disclose that to you, you vile beast!**_"

"Oh, _I'm_ the 'vile beast'? Last I checked, you were the beast, not me." She jolted it with a fierce blast of electricity. "Now, care to tell me where they are?"

The Galian remained silent, withstanding the pain of the magic as best it could.

"Not going to say, eh?" She sighed. "You're annoying, Galian. Perhaps I can get the location out of one of your host's friends, then?"

The demon wasn't so eager to subject others to the magical torture Lizu was putting it through, and gritted its teeth. "..._**Midgar**_."

"Oh? I've looked all over Midgar, and haven't found hide nor hair of them." She smirked. "Be more specific."

"..._**Midgar Underground**_."

* * *

_I can't really rant much without giving too much away from here on. I can summarize the next chapter, but anything else is giving away the ending of this story._

_My basic storyline for the Soul Calibur IV story I'm thinking of has changed just slightly, but it retains their personalities, appearances, histories and fighting styles. And, once again, on the topic of Soul Calibur IV, I am proud to say that I've beaten Story Mode with all the characters (on Normal for now; I have plans to hit Hard next). I've also reached... I want to say Floor 30ish in the Tower of Lost Souls, ascension. I haven't even begun to descend the tower, but I have a good feeling about the descent. Until I encounter that damned Sizuku that was somewhere on the 14th floor, I think... She is, quite easily, the most aggravating character I've ever fought, and anyone else who has fought her can probably understand why. Auto Grapple Break S, Auto Impact S, Impact Heal, Impact Edge? Isn't that borderline, oh, I don't know... BROKEN?! I finally managed to maul her with a Critical Finish (Siegfried's finisher on her was just... I would do that again if she weren't such a pain), and the rest of the tower's going to be relatively simple, In my opinion. Ah, I can say the segment I'm about to start working on in the ascent; I'm ready to start Mind-Reading Shield now._

_Now I'm wondering if Guard Breaks would finish Sizuku easily... I've perfected one of Astaroth's pretty well, and that custom character would have a field day with her._  
_Next chapter, the 'Anti-Lizu Crew' takes the advice of both Raenya and Dmitri, resting for the upcoming battle. Will Lizu allow them to rest, however? Or does she have other plans in mind before she finds them? -Spiritslayer_  



	20. The Final Battle, Setting The Stage

Tifa sighed and let gravity pull her onto the bed. She closed her eyes and wondered if they'd make it through the fight coming.

The door opened, and she heard the voice she had fallen in love with say "Tifa, are you alright?"

She opened her eyes and looked at Vincent, who was moving to the bed. "I've... been better," she admitted. "I'm really nervous about this upcoming battle."

He sat down next to her and rested his right hand upon her left hand. "We all are," he said as Tifa's fingers closed around his hand. "Even Aeon is, and he doesn't show emotion much."

"Mm... I've noticed that since we've been stuck here." She looked over at him, then sat up and leaned against him. "Hey, how long's it been since we just had a moment to ourselves?"

"I want to say roughly a month now," Vincent offered.

She rested her head on his shoulder and looked at her right hand, the diamond ring Vincent had given her when he proposed glinting in the light of the room. "It's always something, isn't it? Just when we think we're finally set to start a new life, someone has to come and screw things up for us. Needless to say, we won't be getting married in three weeks."

"And for once, it's not any fault of Yuffie's," he mused.

Tifa couldn't resist giggling at this joke. "Yeah."

A sudden thought crossed Vincent's mind, and he looked at her. "Tifa, there's something I've been meaning to ask for a while now."

"You've already proposed, Vince. What's left for you to ask?"

"Before I actually proposed, I tried to propose three times prior. Once at the bar, once at the getaway Cloud offered us, and once at the shopping mall. I mention these places because you seemed like you were put out by Yuffie's interruption each time. This begs the question... Did you know I was getting ready to propose then?"

"Well... I figured it out the first time, but thought I'd wait to hear it directly from you. But, Yuffie seemed to interrupt at just the right time."

"Mm."

"We still love her, though; no matter how you look at it, she's like a little sister to all of us. Except Cid; he just thinks of her as an annoying brat."

The name of the pilot seemed to sink their spirits, thinking of how Lizu was after him now or was possibly done. "...He's fine... right?" Tifa asked uncertainly.

"I doubt it. Barret's not the type to be taken down easily, yet look at what happened to him. Cid's not much different from Barret, all things considered; he lets emotions enter his fights, which in turn clouds his judgment."

"Barret... Nanaki... Cid..." Tifa said each name slowly, and each name seemed to weigh heavily on her heart. "They all had to fight Lizu alone, and we just sit down here, waiting for her to come to Midgar again. It kills me that we can't do anything to help them but bide our time..."

"And to think I'd be among them if it weren't for the Galian..." Vincent murmured. "I owe that demon a large favor once this is all over."

"That's a first," she said, smiling despite the gloomy air about them. "You owe the Galian something?"

"Now I do." He closed his eyes, thinking to himself. _Can we even beat her? Our plan is good, to say the least, but Aeon's right; too much can go wrong with it._ He sighed softly. _Death Gigas, Hellmasker, ideas?_

The other two demons remained silent as usual, and for once, Vincent was missing the absence of the Galian's commentary.

"Vince, are _you_ okay?" Tifa asked him. "You just... suddenly fell quiet. What's on your mind?"

"...It's... nothing," he muttered. "I'm just trying to get the other two to speak up, offer their thoughts, but..."

"In your own way, you miss the Galian," she said, chuckling to herself. "Never thought I'd live to see that day."

"It's just... empty. The lack of the usual commentary in my mind... It feels wrong." He clenched his claw, examining the golden digits. "How much hell must we go through in a lifetime...?"

She bit her lip, not wanting to say anything; he was surely thinking primarily of his own situation. _ Hojo's screwed his life up in the most extreme manner, Lucrecia destroyed his heart... And now Lizu's taken something from him; she's taken the Galian, Vince's 'conscience', one of his 'advisers'. And she's taken our friends from us, too._

The door opened, and they looked up at the opening door. "Hey, Tifa-- oh!" they heard Manna say. Manna grinned, and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

They looked at one another for a moment, and both grinned to each other for a second, looking back at Manna with a straight face once more. "Well, yeah, you did. We were just getting ready to get some sleep," Tifa said, fighting the urge to let the hidden grin out.

"Oh, sorry. Um... I guess it can wait, then." She turned to the door. "See you--"

"Manna, seriously." Vincent was the first to grin. "We were just talking about the upcoming fight."

"Oh, you were? Seems like the only thing we can talk about here; Shelke and I just finished talking about it, and then she fell asleep." She looked back at them and shifted uncomfortably. "I actually... wanted to talk about something else for once."

"Sure. What's up?"

"Um... it's a... private matter," Manna said hesitantly. "Sorry, Vincent, but..."

He shook his head. "It's fine." He looked at Tifa, then stood slowly. "I can step out for a while."

"Thanks, and again, sorry." She bowed her head to him in an apologetic manner.

As soon as Vincent had stepped out of the room, Manna sat down on the bed next to Tifa. "Um..."

"So what's up?" Tifa asked, smiling.

"I... well, the truth is, I need advice on something." She hesitated a moment, then... "Um... love life advice."

--

"So, Midgar Underground?" Lizu said, as though asking Sephiroth. "How do I get there?"

"You could always force it out of the demon again."

"I could, but the damned beast just stays silent lately. It's a waste of my magical ability, really." She frowned. "Hey, about your new body..."

"As I said, it's complicated. When you dwell in the Lifestream for a few years, my dear, you tend to unravel some of the greater mysteries of the world," he said vaguely. "I'll leave it at that, and you'll understand when the time comes."

"If you say so," she said almost uncertainly. "Should I... try locating Midgar Underground first, or is now the right time for you?"

"...Actually..." He seemed to be thinking to himself, though whispering the thoughts. She tried discerning some of his whispers, but couldn't catch much, other than 'Lifestream' and 'Mako'. "Lizu."

"Yes?"

"Off to Midgar Underground. We'll figure out how to actually reach Midgar Underground as we go."

"Okay..." She seemed uncertain about his motives, but knew better than to ask what he was thinking. "You realize, right, that the entrance to Midgar Underground could be anywhere in Midgar, right?"

"I'm aware, but I have a hunch it's going to be easier to find than you think," he said simply. "Head for Midgar."

She gave a nod, twirling her staff over and placing a foot on the inner crescent. "Off we go, then."

--

Dmitri examined the barren ruins, his shotgun resting comfortably in his lap. His right hand gripped the gun's grip gently, his left was rolling a shotgun shell over in his hand. A small com unit was sitting next to him, soft static sounding from it.

"Report," came from the com unit.

He stopped turning the shell over in his hand, placed it in his coat pocket, and picked up the com unit. "Still clear. It's highly unlikely, Raenya, that she'll arrive here today."

"...I know, I know," her voice sighed. "I'm just... worried about you."

"Don't worry about me," he said, eyes searching the ruins once more. "I'll be fine, and we both know that."

"So you say, but we don't really know..."

He chuckled to himself. "Raenya."

"Yes?"

"Get some sleep already. Remember, you're heading the battle when she comes; you'll need a clear head for that."

"But--"

"If I see her, you'll, understandably, be the first to know. I won't even promise it; it's a guarantee."

"Dmitri... that's... not exactly comforting..."

He grinned to himself, setting the com unit down next to him.

His grin vanished, however, as sudden movement caught his eye. He examined it closely, and cursed himself silently for forgetting binoculars. He slowly reached for the com unit and brought it up. "Movement spotted. Target unknown, but moving this way."

"Right."

He stood slowly, shotgun at the ready. He watched the figure draw closer and he rose his shotgun to aim at it. "False alarm; it's not Lizu."

"But... but there's something there?"

"Mm." He waited for it to draw closer to him and fired. A yelp sounded and the figure collapsed, blood starting to ooze from the wound in its head. He looked at it closer and noted it was a monster. "Nothing serious," he said into the com unit, proceeding to reload his shotgun. "It went down a fight."

He heard her sigh in relief and, as he finished reloading, resumed. "Raenya, stop worrying about me. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, you know."

"But--"

"Get some rest, Raenya. That's an order," he said sharply. "Until this battle starts, I'm still in charge; do _not_ forget that."

"But..." She hesitated a moment. "...Alright. Be careful, Dmitri. Let me know when she comes."

"I will, and you know that already." He set the com unit down next to him once more, eyes darting about the ruins again. He pulled out a new shotgun shell and began rolling it over in his left hand.

--

"That help?" Tifa said.

Manna nodded. "A lot. Thanks a lot!" she said, smiling. "Of course, I guess you would be the best one to talk to about it..."

Tifa gave a small shrug. "I guess so."

Manna stood and began mentally reviewing everything Tifa had told her. "Thanks again. I should leave you be, then; I need some rest, and so do you and Vincent." She opened the door and nodded to Vincent, stepping outside.

He stepped inside, noting the cheerful air about Manna and the smile on Tifa's face. He looked from one to the other, his eyes eventually resting on Tifa. "Do I even want to know?" he asked.

"Oh, she wanted some advice," Tifa said casually. "Nothing too major."

"Nothing major, huh? Mind if I ask what about?"

Tifa gave him a disapproving look. "That's private, Vince. I can't say that."

"Fair enough." He sat down next to her once more.

"Hey, Vince? I think we should get some rest. We never know when this fight will happen, and we'll want to be well rested for it."

He nodded in agreement. "True. So, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Or later; I've lost track of time down here, and it could be after midnight right now."

He chuckled. "Indeed."

She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. She reached a hand up to him and gave him a soft tug. "Join me?"

He lay down next to her, smiling. "You didn't even need to ask."

--

"Sephiroth?"

"Mm?"

Lizu was watching the ocean drift under the staff's tip. "How... how much of my history do you know?"

He was quiet for a while, as though thinking about it. "...Truthfully, nothing. I know you volunteered for the JENOVA Project, but that's it. I don't know anything past that."

"...What if I said we were more alike than we first thought?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. But how so?"

"Your spirit's survived two deaths now. I'm similar to you; my spirit's been alive for years and years. Centuries, even. Each time I 'die', I move on to a new body and possess it. In a sense, I'm probably the last surviving Ancient now."

"...You were originally born during the time of the Cetra?"

She nodded. "I heard tales of a dark calamity that could destroy a whole planet at a whim. I summoned that calamity to this planet, intent on harnessing its power for myself. But my Cetra brethren discovered her and put up a fight. I fought alongside her, but to no avail; she was sealed away, I was slain."

"...Mother."

"Yes. JENOVA. Anyway, when I was killed, the Lifestream rejected my spirit, and I was free to roam the planet as a spirit. I eventually uncovered the secret to rebirth, and tried it on a young woman, a loner. I successfully possessed her, and I was alive again. Each time I die, I worry that the Lifestream will actually accept my spirit and I'll never be able to roam again." She glanced at the orb. "I can teach you the secret to possession, if you want."

"I appreciate the offer, my love, but it's not necessary. I have plans already, and it'll work better than you may think."

She drifted in silence for a while.

"Lizu, if you're capable of summoning Mother to the planet, then you're capable of more than you think."

"Only in thought; the bodies I've possessed in the past haven't been anywhere near as powerful as my original Cetra body. I miss that body a lot, but this one's second best."

"Do you want your Cetra body back?"

She was shocked to hear him say this, and nearly slipped off the staff. "W-w-what? Is... is that even possible?"

"It is, yes. Again, you'll understand when we get there."

"...Why are you keeping me in suspense?" she muttered, eyes falling on the distant ruins of Midgar.

"It's simply my nature, Lizu; I apologize."

She urged the staff forward a little faster, watching Midgar draw closer. "Well, we're almost there. Where do we need to go once we find Midgar Underground?"

"We'll go to the nearest Mako reactor first. Once our business there is finished, then we'll begin our search for Midgar Underground."

"Nearest reactor..." She gave a slow nod. "Understood." She urged the staff to go at its highest speed, thoughts of having her old body back flitting through her mind. _My old body... And with All's End in my possession..._

--

Raenya tossed and turned, but couldn't fall asleep. Her eyes slid open and she heaved a sigh. _No matter how I think about it,_ she thought, eyes resting on the com unit, _I can't sleep. Not knowing that he may be in harm at any time._

The lights in her room flickered, and she looked at the lights carefully, watching as they eventually returned to normal. _A sign, maybe? Such tumult in the lights... Could this be a sign in regards to the battle...?_

She pushed the thoughts from her mind and closed her eyes again, trying to fall asleep again.

Her com unit crackled, and in an instant, she had it clutched tightly in her hand. "Dmitri?"

"Hm, you've somehow managed to preempt me. Raenya, I've spotted movement in the distance."

"..."

"Human movement, this time I'm sure. And the glint of sunlight off silver hair... It's unmistakable."

"She's... here?"

"Lizu is in Midgar once more." She heard him sigh, then... "Tell everyone the battle's beginning now. Meet me in the lobby of Shinra Headquarters."

* * *

_The combatants have assembled in Midgar, but what is Sephiroth planning? Why is he telling Lizu to head to the nearest Mako reactor?_

_This is definitely winding down now; the ending has been planned out already, and reaching it is going to be fun and suspenseful._

_I've made no new progress in Soul Calibur IV, but will say that I tend to bounce between that and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion a lot lately. I go from one to the other in the matter of a night, and it's a bit frightening, really._

_Next chapter, the 'Anti-Lizu Crew' surfaces once again, this time ready to fight Lizu and hopefully win. But will Sephiroth's plan undermine their own plan in one fell swoop? -Spiritslayer_


	21. The Final Battle, First Strike

Raenya watched as the group gathered in the elevator area. She watched as Shelke rubbed her eyes, rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She watched as Manna wrung her hands nervously, eyes on the bottom of the elevator lift as it descended. She watched as Tifa hugged Vincent like there was no tomorrow for either of them, and he seemed to be comforting her.

The Turks had since left them, considering their mission complete in Midgar Underground. Raenya cleared her throat and everyone's attention was on her. "Listen up. Lizu vanished from Dmitri's sight, meaning she could be anywhere now. Once we surface, we need to be careful, or we could wind up ambushed."

They nodded their agreement, eyes on her.

"Remember your roles in this fight against her. If, at any time, I feel the fight is going to end in failure, I will change the roles up. As Dmitri said last night, listen to me and we should make it through this fight just fine." She looked at Tifa. "Your role is..."

"To take Lizu's back initially, putting her in a battle on two fronts."

Raenya nodded, eyes shifting to Manna. "Manna, what's your role?"

"To... to steal Lizu's staff from her and bring it to Vincent shortly after."

"Rui?"

"I'm to steal the All's End she has on her and, like Manna, bring it to Vincent."

"Right." She looked at Vincent. "Valentine?"

"I'm to provide suppressive fire until Manna steals Lizu's staff, at which time I will aid her in her efforts to locate Sephiroth's spirit and put an end to him once and for all. Similarly, once Shelke brings me All's End, the two of us are to work together to free the souls trapped inside of it."

"Excellent," Dmitri's voice rang from the com unit in Raenya's right hand. "And, while we're at it, my role is to close in on her as she's close to finished and remove her soul with the sliver of All's End I have on me now."

The elevator came to a halt, and each of them stepped onto the elevator, anxious about the fight.

"Going up," Manna said, forcing a cheery attitude as she pressed the 'Up' button.

--

"It's... so dead in here," Lizu said, walking slowly through the reactor that was once Sector 3's Mako reactor. She was twirling her staff slowly, taking in the sight of the abandoned reactor.

"Lizu, go to the core of the reactor. I'll take over from there once we're there."

She nodded slowly, progressing slowly into the reactor's interior. "So... what is the basic plan here? How will this reactor give you a new body and give me my Cetra body back?"

"In time, Lizu, in time."

"Again with the suspense..." she muttered.

The walk into the core of the reactor was silent between the two of them, and she stood at the valve at the center. "Well, here's the center," she finally said, breaking the silence.

"Hold the staff up, and let go of it," he said firmly.

She complied, and watched as the orb flashed repeatedly. The flashing lights subsided and the orb was glowing a steady blue. The staff rose slowly into the air and hovered over the edge of the bridge. "Sephiroth?"

"Trust in me." The staff suddenly plunged to the pure Lifestream at the base and sank into the current.

She gasped, rushing to the edge of the bridge and looking down, worried. Her hands gripped the railing tightly. "Sephiroth!"

A series of flashes erupted from the Lifestream below her, and she cried out in surprise. The Lifestream suddenly exploded upward, the edge of the spray narrowly missing Lizu.

Two sickening thuds could be heard, followed shortly after by a metallic clanking noise. She looked over at the spot where the noise originated from, and gasped.

The Spiked Crescent lay on the bridge, all traces of Mako eradicated from it. This wasn't what surprised her, however.

Two bodies were laying upon the bridge. One was clad in SOLDIER First Class armor, a familiar long sword resting next to it. The other...

"My... my original body..." she whispered, taking a slow step toward the second body. The silver-white hair seemed to glow greenish-blue in the light of the reactor, the white robes it was clad in glowing the same color.

The first body stirred, and sat up. The left hand grasped the sword laying next to it, and then it stood, grinning at Lizu. "I told you," it spoke, Sephiroth's voice sounding from the body's mouth. "Now, claim your old body, Lizu."

She nodded and wordlessly moved to the body still laying on the bridge. "Sephiroth, my love... Do the final honors, if you would."

He complied, sweeping the Masamune blade in his left hand across her neck. The head flew off the bridge and into the Lifestream below. The rest of Lizu's body slumped over.

Almost at the same time, the other body stirred and rose slowly, almost shakily. It examined its hands, then looked itself over. "I... can't believe it..." Lizu's voice whispered from the other body's mouth. "It... worked..."

He nodded, picking up Lizu's old body and throwing it into the Lifestream below them. "That is the least I can do for everything you've done for me. You've removed all but two of the heroes of Meteorfall; not an easy feat, as you know. And now, with your old Cetra body and my rebirth, the last two heroes can't possibly hope to stop us now."

She looked at him, then moved swiftly into his chest, her arms wrapping around him. "This... I can't even begin to tell you how long I've waited to hold you..." she murmured.

He smiled, hugging her. "The same could be said for me as well." He looked at her soft face, her turquoise eyes seemingly glowing in the reactor.

She smiled, not even caring that tears were falling down her face.

She was finally reunited with her love, and to her, this moment was perfection.

--

Dmitri watched as the group stepped into the lobby, nodding to each of them individually as they entered. "I lost sight of her somewhere around Sector 3," he said, skipping the pleasantries. "It looked like she was headed for the reactor, but I have no way of confirming it."

Raenya nodded, saying nothing at first.

"You're in charge, Raenya. Don't forget that."

His words seemed to snap her back to reality, and she nodded. "Let's move out, then. Rui, activate your transparency and follow Dmitri closely. Defend him against anything that appears as though it'd pose a threat to him, excluding Lizu. He will address Lizu, we will be hidden from her view, watching the exchange."

Dmitri nodded, leading the way. Shelke vanished from view, and they all set out to reach Sector 3.

The procession was silent, a somber air about them as they progressed. Not even static was audible from either com unit. An ominous wind blew through Midgar, and they all shivered involuntarily, as though the wind itself had caused massive discomfort among them.

--

"Sephiroth," she murmured, her long hair blowing freely in the wind outside the reactor. She clutched her staff tight in her left hand. "I think I see someone."

He looked in the direction she was looking, and gave a slow nod of understanding. "I'll hide from view for now, and if it's the remaining heroes, I'll join you in the fight against them."

"Mm." She didn't watch as he hid from view, choosing instead to walk forward, to meet the person approaching her.

A look of confusion plastered the old man's face, and she grinned. "Ah, Professor Dmitri Aeon. You're still alive and well, I see."

"You are...?" he said uncertainly.

"You don't recognize me?" She gave a small bow, straightening up and twirling her staff. "It's me, Lizu. Oh, that's right too; of course you wouldn't recognize me like this." She smirked. "This is my original Cetra body."

A look of shock flashed across his features for a moment, but he erased it quickly, forcing a grin. "Interesting. How'd you manage that?"

"Nope, that's a secret between myself and a friend." She stopped twirling her staff and gave him a sarcastically sweet smile. "So what brings you here, my old friend?"

He didn't reply, instead choosing to look around. "You're alone?"

_Don't you wish,_ she thought, fighting every urge to laugh out loud. "Mm, I am now. Why, do you need to talk to me in private?"

--

Raenya's mind reeled, the words that sang softly through her com unit still echoing in her mind. _Lizu has her original body back?_ she thought, horrified. _She caused so much hell in her old body, but now she's got her most powerful body back?_ She wanted to call Shelke, to tell her to strike Lizu now, to paralyze her, but knew better than to speak over the com unit. She looked at Tifa and mouthed 'Do you have Rui's phone number?'

Tifa looked at Raenya, dumbfounded, but eventually nodded and silently pulled her phone out, handing it to Raenya.

She proceeded to enter a text message and bit her lip. She pulled her own phone out and flipped it open. She dialed Dmitri's number and pressed the 'Send' button on Tifa's phone first, immediately following up with the last digit of Dmitri's phone number, confirming the call.

--

Lizu heard a small beeping noise, and Dmitri fished into his pocket for a moment. "Excuse me, I told them not to call me," he said slowly.

Shelke let a silent breath of relief out; the timing of the phone call to Dmitri had covered up the fact that Shelke had received a text message on her own phone. She listened to Dmitri as he proceeded to talk to the person on his phone, reading her message over and over.

'_Rui,_

_Change in plans. Paralyze Lizu with everything those EM sabers of yours are capable of pushing out. Once she's paralyzed, take her staff from her and run. Find a safe hiding place, then text your coordinates to me. I'll send Valentine to your location at that point._

_Raenya'_

Shelke closed her eyes, silently closing her phone. She put the phone away, then reached for her EM sabers. She was about to flick them on when a sudden realization hit her; if she turned them on now, Lizu would hear and her position would be compromised. She glided backward quickly, putting distance between her and Lizu. Once she was a safe distance from Lizu, she flicked her sabers on.

"My my," she heard from behind her. "It sounds as though he's not alone, my dear."

--

Dmitri's heart missed numerous beats as he heard the chilling voice speak. _But it didn't come from her staff..._ he thought, looking cautiously in the direction of the voice.

A sudden cry sounded, and Shelke's transparency faded from view, her sabers losing what charge they had. She stumbled forward, looking behind her. "But... that's impossible..." she said. "He's supposed to be just a spirit!"

Sephiroth stepped into view, smirking at her, Masamune pointed at Shelke's heart. "Then explain my rebirth and Lizu's Cetra body," he said coolly.

Lizu clicked her tongue, shaking her head. She grinned at Dmitri. "Well, well. I didn't know you were in league with the remaining heroes of Meteorfall," she commented, raising the staff above her head. The staff flashed in a downward arc, the blades biting into Dmitri's chest.

He was knocked a good distance backward by the sheer impact of the staff against his chest, and brought a hand to his chest. "Dammit..." he muttered, reaching for his shotgun.

Lizu stepped calmly toward him, staff at the ready. "Should I strike him with magic? Or should I just slash him to pieces?" she mused.

A roar of fury sounded a little further from her, and in what seemed to be a split second, the familiar 'Slayer' was bearing down on Lizu, twin tonfa in hand. "You leave Dmitri out of this," Raenya hissed.

"So you're here too?" She looked to the spot Raenya had run from. "Hm... Come out, you two. If this rabble's here, I know you're there too."

--

Vincent and Tifa looked at one another, unsure of what to do. They looked to Manna, who gave a grim nod.

"She doesn't seem to remember me," Manna said quietly. "I can take advantage of that and possibly deliver a decisive blow. You two should reveal yourselves; keep a distance from her, though."

They slowly nodded and, after an attempt at a calming breath for each of them, stepped into the open.

--

Lizu grinned wickedly. "Good, saves me the trouble of searching for Midgar Underground now."

Dmitri looked at her, shocked once more. "You... knew about Midgar Underground?"

She shook her head. "Not until that damned demon told me, anyway. Unfortunately, it refused to disclose how to reach Midgar Underground. But now there's no point."

"I have a question for you," Dmitri began. "All's End. Do you plan on using that during this fight?"

"Of course. You think I'm a fool? I'm not about to abandon my greatest advantage." She smirked at Dmitri. "Now, I have a question for you. Any last words?"

He chuckled, grinning. "Yeah. You lose, Lizu, and you were never destined to win."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, but she maintained the smirk. She looked at Raenya, then back at Dmitri. "Hm, what to bet?" she said simply. She suddenly vanished from view.

Sephiroth watched Shelke intently, waiting for the former Tsviet to make a move. "You're not going to try saving him?" he said to her, taunting her.

"What? But she..." Her voice trailed, and her eyes widened in horror. "No..."

A cry of pain pierced the air, and everyone's attention was snapped to the source of it.

Dmitri was clutching his chest again, fingers trying to pry the blades of the Spiked Crescent from his chest.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Lizu said in a singsong voice, appearing next to him, placing a hand upon the staff. "You do that, and the blood will have free access out of your body. Oh, by the way, I think pierced your heart, so guess what?" She smirked. "I actually win."

Raenya dropped her tonfa, the shock of what had just transpired numbing her. She could only watch in horror as Lizu wrenched the staff's tip from his chest and buried a foot into his chest. Raenya bent over to pick up her tonfa, prepared to strike Lizu.

Dmitri coughed up blood, but managed to grin. "You still lose," he gasped through pained, ragged breaths. His eyes flicked to Raenya. "Give her hell before you send her there."

Raenya's eyes overflowed with tears, but she ignored them, rushing toward Lizu angrily. She carelessly swung her right tonfa at Lizu's torso, missing as the Cetra sidestepped the attack. She dropped both tonfa again, rushing to Dmitri's side. "No, you can't!" she cried, throwing her arms around him and holding him tight. "Don't leave me alone, Dmitri!"

"I don't have... much choice in the matter..." he chuckled. He hugged her as best he could and pulled her close. "The... shard of All's End..." he whispered into her ear. "It's... in the shotgun shell currently inside my shotgun. Fire it at her... and... it'll do the work... for us..."

Raenya's lower lip trembled as his embrace slackened around her, but continued to hug him, refusing to believe what had just happened. "Dmitri..." she whispered. "You can't leave me..."

Lizu laughed. "Aw, so it turns out the 'Slayer' has a big weakness." She smirked at Raenya, turning her attention to Vincent and Tifa once more. "Now, you two won't suffer that same fate, provided I can remember how to hold back in this body." She coursed raw magic through her palms. "If I _do_ accidentally kill you, I _guess_ I apologize."

--

Raenya pulled away from Dmitri's body and clutched the shotgun at his side. She fished for the ammunition box he tended to keep in his lab coat pocket and pulled it out. She tucked both under her arms and she watched as Lizu's attention was fixed on the two heroes of Meteorfall.

She had a plan, and she had a feeling it would work without fail.

* * *

_I'm afraid to say anything else about the story, other than 'next chapter summaries', for fear of spoiling the rest of the story._

_Soul Calibur IV rant time. I've progressed some more through the Tower of Lost Souls, and am avidly despising the mission I'm currently stuck on. King of the Physical Realm is a pain and a half to attempt. I can beat the first of the three enemies there with enough skill, but I always get stuck on the second of the three. Is there an easy way to beat an enemy with maxed defense, an easy way to defeat an enemy with Auto Grapple Break S, Nullify Ring Out S and Auto Impact B? Is there an easy way to beat him within the 200 seconds I'm allotted to fight him and the next guy?_

_The answer is 'no', sadly. I've managed to knock his health down to about 5 of what he started with, but then I ran out of time. It's like trying to destroy a damn tank with a butterknife; it's aggravating, and I think it's impossible. However, an early morning revelation has seen me pondering the use of skills against all three of them; that is, I've thought maybe it's time I drop the skills. After all, the special conditions for unlocking the treasures of the mission is to use fighters with no skills set on them, and if the second guy's a damned tank while I use skills like Venom Fang A, Shave Damage A and Soul Gauge Damage A, will he be more manageable without skills? I don't know, but I'm going to try it tonight, see if it works. If not, then this second guy's even more godlike than that Sizuku character from way back on Floor 14 (I think; I haven't revisited since). Frankly, I hate this guy with a passion, and while Venom Fang A does a wondrous number on his health when it catches, his knack for popping off attacks regardless of guard status tends to work off the Venom Fang easily. (Note to self: master the art of guarding low attacks and sidestepping...)  
_

_I have had some decent success against him, however, using Auto Impact A and Impact Edge; this takes a surprising chunk out of his HP, making my fight considerably faster. Now, if only I can get the guy with it on him to survive everything this punk throws his way... Either way, I'm going to try fighting him without skills set and see if that helps; if not, I'm just going to try berserker mode on his sorry ass and toss the most aggressive skills I have on three characters (possibly all using Voldo's style; this style, unexpectedly, seems to hold up best against the second guy)._

_Anyway..._

_Next chapter, the death of Dmitri seems to have filled the entire group with a new purpose, but will it be enough to pull them through to victory? Or will the unexpected fight against Lizu and Sephiroth together be the end of them? -Spiritslayer_


	22. The Final Battle, Following The Plan

Silence had settled among the five remaining comrades, each lost in their own thoughts.

Manna was trying to think of the best way to strike at Lizu, but found herself being stopped by, and possibly killed by, Sephiroth in each scenario.

Tifa was praying that none of them would fall victim in any manner to Lizu's staff, clenching her fists and glaring at Lizu.

Vincent had since drawn Cerberus, but knew better than to try attacking Lizu now; no doubt there was a barrier around Lizu still, and he surmised that was why Sephiroth wasn't more involved in the fight.

Shelke was trying to think of the best way to escape Sephiroth without him noticing, but every time she even twitched, Masamune's tip found itself a little closer to her heart.

Raenya was silently mourning the loss of the one she loved most, but knew she had to steel her heart for the moment; if she allowed his death to affect her, none of them would survive the fight.

She didn't want to lose any more friends.

"So without him, you're all worthless?" Lizu taunted. "This should be easy clean-up, then." She dismissed the magic in her palms and began twirling her staff, smirking at Tifa and Vincent. "I'll start with you two, then clean up the rest of the rabble." She glanced at Sephiroth. "Take care of her, would you?" she added, jerking her head to Shelke. "She's troublesome and probably one of the few among these four that can harm me unexpectedly."

Raenya took a quick moment to assess the new situation. _Dmitri's dead, but I have the shard of All's End. Sephiroth is here, and Lizu has her Cetra body back. She has All's End somewhere on her, but hasn't used it yet._ She shuddered slightly. _It has to be done._ She stood up straight and ran to Vincent. "Valentine!"

He watched her as she ran up to him and extended the shotgun to him. "Raenya?" he asked.

She moved in closer and whispered, "The shard of All's End is in the shell inside the shotgun now. I'll give you the ammunition box he used to carry with him so you can't run out of ammunition."

"Why can't you?" he murmured so only she could hear. "It's true I'm a gunner, but still..."

"I..." She bit her lip and hesitated, then... "I'm sacrificing myself to All's End."

His eyes widened and he looked at her, a hard look on his face. "Don't you dare..."

"It'll make taking All's End from her easier if we know where she keeps it. But to figure this out, we need to be willing to make a sacrifice." She turned her head to face Lizu, feeling Vincent take the shotgun and ammunition out of her hands. "You're in charge until you free all the souls inside All's End, Vincent Valentine," she added in a hushed whisper before running back to retrieve her tonfa.

He could only watch as she grasped her tonfa and turned her attention on Lizu. He watched as she spun the tonfa in her hand so she had more range, and he watched as she thrust the weapon toward Lizu's chest.

Lizu dodged the thrust nimbly, grasping her staff and bringing the orb to Raenya's eye level. "No you don't," she said, smirking before crashing the orb into Raenya's face with surprising force.

Raenya fought back the urge to cry out in pain and instead followed up with a strike to Lizu's stomach with her left tonfa, burying as much hatred as she could into the strike. "That was for Dmitri," she growled as Lizu doubled over, gasping for breath. "And this..." she added, crashing the right tonfa up into Lizu's own face and knocking the Cetra into the air about three feet. She crouched slightly, then jumped into the air until she was level with Lizu. She slammed her right knee into Lizu's stomach and watched as the Cetra slammed to the ground, crying out in pain. "That was for all you've done to those who've been sacrificed to All's End so far," Raenya seethed, landing carefully on her feet before rushing toward Lizu.

It wasn't until she drove her foot into Lizu's stomach that she realized her assault went fairly well against the Cetra. _But if Sephiroth isn't protecting her with a barrier, then..._ She glanced at the nightmare and gasped.

Sephiroth was glancing about slowly, as though looking for someone. Raenya noticed that Shelke had vanished from sight, but she also noticed that there were blood spatters on the ground in front of Sephiroth. "You think you have the advantage just because you can hide in plain view?" he mused, bringing Masamune's blade parallel to the ground. He made a wide sweep with the sword and watched as blood sprayed approximately six feet from him, watched as the blood landed in a spot behind him. "Found you," he said calmly as Shelke's transparency faded.

The former Tsviet was breathing heavily, ignoring the slash across her right cheek. She flicked her sabers on and prepared to dodge his moves as best she could. "But even so, can you defeat me?" she said, taking a small step backward, out of his range.

A shot rang out from the hiding place Raenya, Tifa and Vincent had vacated, and the bullet had narrowly missed Sephiroth's left shoulder. "Damn," Manna sighed, stepping into the open, her handgun aimed at the former general. "I thought I had him there..."

Lizu looked at Manna from her spot on the ground. "...You..." she managed. "You managed to... escape the WRO Headquarters shortly after Strife and Kisaragi lost their souls..."

Manna nodded, glancing at Lizu. "That I did. You were so focused on Shelke that you didn't seem to notice I went missing."

Lizu cracked a smirk. "Insignificant people such as yourself can be overlooked."

To everyone's surprise, Manna chuckled. "Yeah, I'm insignificant. But here I am now, fighting for our friends." She looked back at Sephiroth. "Tifa, Vincent, Raenya. You three handle Lizu for now; I'll help Shelke fend off Sephiroth. I doubt we can defeat him, but we should be able to buy some time."

Raenya gave a small nod. "That'll work for now." She looked at Lizu, watched as the Cetra stood slowly, a hand at her stomach. "I'll fight Lizu alone for the time being, but I'll count on Lockheart and Valentine when the time comes."

Lizu twirled her staff three times angrily, the staff's tip at Raenya's head level. "You'll fight _me_ alone?! You really think you can defeat me alone?!" she snapped angrily, vanishing from view momentarily.

Raenya began a silent prayer to herself, hoping that Lizu didn't actually kill her. She forced herself to keep her eyes open, resigning herself to the fate awaiting her. She fought the reflex to close her eyes as Lizu suddenly appeared in front of her, the staff's orb at Raenya's eye level.

"You'll never beat me," Lizu seethed, a hint of triumph and hatred in her voice as the staff's orb flashed once in Raenya's eyes.

Vincent's eyes closed as the realization of what happened hit him. "She really did it," he murmured, opening his eyes and looking at the shotgun Raenya had handed him. "Manna, forget fending off Sephiroth; you'll risk death if you try it. Come here."

Tifa's hands shot to her mouth as Raenya fell over, her tonfa clunking to the ground. She gave Lizu's back a death glare. "Were we ever... truly prepared for this fight...?" she said, her voice muffled behind her hands.

Manna rested a hand on Tifa's shoulder, giving a half-reassuring nod. "We'll win, Tifa. We'll win."

"If you listen to me, Manna, yes we will." Vincent beckoned her to come closer. "Manna," he began once she was close enough, "I'll keep Lizu's attention, force her to melee combat. When this happens, I want you to steal her staff from her and bring it to Tifa."

"But--"

"Unlike Raenya, I have two more safeties from All's End. The Galian wasn't the only demon dwelling inside me, you know. I'm better suited to hold her attention, and I'll transform into either Death Gigas or Hellmasker if my situation looks grim." He noted the hesitant look in her eyes. "Trust me, Manna. This will work."

She finally nodded, and watched as Vincent ran toward Lizu.

"No..." Tifa gasped, seeing Vincent run forward. "Vince, no!" She took a step forward and felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Tifa, stop. He has a plan," Manna said quietly. "If it looks grim, he'll transform to save himself."

"Vince..."

Manna gave Tifa a quick hug. "This'll work out fine, Tifa. I'm to steal her staff, as was the original plan, but this time I'll bring it to you."

"But how will that work in our favor?"

Manna gave a small smile. "All's End is inside her staff's orb. If we can take the staff from her, we can take her All's End from her too. If we can do that, we can save our friends."

Tifa gave a reluctant nod and watched as Manna stepped forward slowly, carefully.

A flash emanated from Vincent and Lizu and Vincent fell to the ground slowly.

"Tsk," Lizu sighed, watching as Vincent rose slowly. "So you transformed to save yourself. Are you really so selfish that you'd sacrifice demons?"

"You know, you're selfish too. You've taken many souls just to further your cause with Sephiroth. Two of those souls happen to be demons that dwell inside me." He flexed his golden claw in an intimidating manner. "Let me see if I have this right. You've fused the staff with All's End."

"Correct." She smirked at him. "But what can you possibly hope to do even despite that? You're pathetic in melee combat, which is why you're a gunner."

"I'm more than enough for you," he said.

She rushed at him angrily, the staff swinging through the air.

He brought Cerberus up to block the staff, taking care not to allow the blades to impact the gun. He slammed his claw down on the staff. "Manna, now!" he shouted.

Lizu wondered what he was up to, and the realization suddenly dawned on her. "No..." she said quietly. "That... was all a ruse?"

Vincent grinned as Manna came up and slugged Lizu in the stomach, watched as Lizu doubled over.

"I got it!" Manna said triumphantly, hands clasping the staff and pulling it from Lizu's slackened grip. She ran back toward Tifa, ready to free the souls.

"Look out!" they heard Shelke shout, and they all froze.

None of them had remembered Sephiroth's presence, and all of them had to watch as the general ran the sword through Manna's right leg. "You'll be smart enough to let go of that if you value your life," he said coolly, eyes ablaze.

* * *

_So... It's been nearly a month since I last updated... I feel almost pathetic._

_I've been caught up in many a game lately, most notably SPORE. That game is... amazing. I have a blast with it, so much so that lately I get to sleep at about 2 or 3 in the morning (!!). I'm not in school anymore, so I can do that, but I will say this: if you're still in school, do NOT pull all-nighters. It may seem cool to do, but that wears off when you're fighting with yourself to stay awake. It eventually becomes torture, in my opinion._

_That being said, I've pulled about five or six all-nighters in my life. I regret all but one of them._

_I've picked up Final Fantasy X and started playing that again. I used to have major problems with Seymour at Mt. Gagazet, and I used to get nailed by Total Annihilation. This time, though, I wisened up a little and focused on advancing my characters through their Sphere Grids. I also took note to put all five aeons into Overdrive mode, and even though Seymour Banishes them, I can still pull off their respective Overdrives. Ultimately, that Mortiorchis (sp?) thing took a toll on him too, seeing whereas it yanked about 11k health off him with Mortisorption._

_And that presents my newest obstacle. Yunalesca's final form. Her Mega Death attack._

_My fight against her was going well until she managed to kill Yuna, Auron and Rikku all at once with Mega Death. No effort on her part, which is just cheap in and around itself. I managed to knock her down to half health before it killed me, though, and pairing Auron off with Lulu's Firaga spell should clean Yunalesca's clock later. I have no more worries about the game's remaining bosses stopping me easily._

_Anyway... Next chapter, the crew's taken Lizu's staff, but for how long will they possess it? Will all who take it die by Sephiroth's sword and an enraged Lizu's magics? Or will they manage to free the souls trapped inside and put an end to Sephiroth and Lizu? -Spiritslayer_


	23. The Final Battle, Valentine's Decision

"Manna!" Tifa cried out, stepping toward her friend.

A sphere of magic narrowly missed Tifa's head and continued flying past her. "Take another step forward, and the next one will actually hurt," Lizu hissed, her palm pointed at Tifa. "Don't even _think_ I'm bluffing, Lockheart."

Vincent looked at Lizu, then turned his attention to Sephiroth. _So now what do we do?_ he wondered to himself. _If I try for Lizu, she'll likely blast either me or Tifa just to cripple me, physically or emotionally. And if I try for Sephiroth..._ He fought the urge to shudder. _It's long been said that only Cloud has half a fighting chance against him, and his two victories over the general prove it. As it stands, however, I'm not Cloud._

_**One by one, this duo is winning,**_ a voice echoed through his mind.

He jumped slightly at this sudden comment; he had grown so accustomed to silence in his mind that Hellmasker's comment caught him off guard. _Well, you _do_ have a voice._

_**Hmph. And here I was, about to volunteer myself to fight them.**_

_Don't be ridiculous; they'd take you down faster than you can rev that chainsaw of yours._

_**Sarcastic whelp.**_

He allowed himself the smallest of grins, but felt it fade as the scenario fell upon him once again.

"I said," Sephiroth seethed, twisting the blade slightly in Manna's leg, "let go of the staff if you value your life. And I really hate repeating myself."

Much to everyone's surprise, she began chuckling. "So kill me, then. Kill me, if you think you're up to it." She set her eyes upon his, giving him her fiercest glare.

"Manna!" Shelke shouted. "Don't be stupid! We all know he will, so don't tempt him!"

"If that's true, then wouldn't he have done so already?" Manna said coolly, her eyes still fixed on his.

He narrowed his eyes and shot his most intimidating glare back at Manna. His grip on Masamune's hilt tightened slightly.

"Do it. I dare you," Manna said, ignoring his glare.

"...You're not afraid of me," he said, still glaring at her. "Even when your life is at my mercy, you're not afraid of me. You even seem to be... encouraging me."

She didn't reply, figuring the statements to be rhetorical.

Lizu glanced at Sephiroth and Manna, the words he spoke beginning to sink into her mind. _"You're not afraid of me." "You're not afraid of dying."_ She milled the statement uttered by Sephiroth just a moment ago over in her mind, placing it next to the words he had spoken to her four years ago, in the Northern Crater.

He continued to examine Manna's eyes, searching for some trace of fear that he could use.

She continued to defy his attempt to scare her, doing her best to hide the fear that would've paralyzed any other person by now.

Everyone watched in wonder as Sephiroth's expression seemed to soften. Only one of them took this to have profound meaning.

"...Alone..." Lizu murmured, clenching her fists.

He broke the glare he had been casting upon Manna and glanced at Lizu. "Hm?"

She looked up, glaring first at him, then at Manna. "Leave him _alone!_" she yelled, furiously raising both hands up, fists flying open, palms aimed at Manna. "I see what you're trying to do!" she continued, magic swirling violently, dangerously in her palms. "It won't work! You can't sway him into sparing you, so don't waste your time! I'll kill you for trying it!" she finished, the magic orbs in her palms flying toward Manna.

Then, the unexpected happened. Manna cried out, a flash was seen, and two explosions of magic filled their line of vision. Smoke hung in the air, and all eyes were fixed on the center of the smoke.

"I do believe I said 'do not kill them'," Sephiroth said coolly. The smoke cleared, and Lizu gasped.

Masamune was smoking, two small traces of magical impact faintly visible on the blade. He was regarding her through narrowed eyes. "But... why...?" Lizu whispered. "Why?" she repeated, voice raising. "She's not a 'hero of Meteorfall'! So why should I spare her?!" She hung her head for a moment. "...Why does it seem like you're suddenly against me?!" she said accusingly, looking up at him angrily.

"Calm yourself, and I'll explain." He swung Masamune through the air, the last traces of smoke vanishing from the blade. "She stole your staff, stole All's End. Tell me, do you want her to die and meet rest in the Lifestream, or do you want to torture her for what she's done?"

Lizu bit her lip, her expression softening. "I... I'd want to torture her for what she's done," she said quietly, eyes falling.

A sudden flash was visible from behind Sephiroth, and both the general and the Cetra quickly set their sights on the source.

Tifa was supporting Manna, who was on her feet. Manna's hands clutched the staff tightly, her eyes were closed.

The staff flashed again, a small wisp was visible above the orb of the staff, and Sephiroth and Lizu knew immediately what was happening.

"No..." Lizu whispered, slumping to her knees. "All that work, all that effort... And for what...?"

Sephiroth clenched Masamune tightly, taking a step toward the pair. "Stop, or your lives are forfeit," he seethed menacingly, raising the blade quickly, the tip halting mere millimeters from Manna's face.

Tifa shot him a glare of loathing. "Go to hell."

A clicking noise was faintly heard by Sephiroth, and he had no time to look in the direction of it. This was owing largely to the feel of metal against his chest and the sudden electrical surge that followed it. "You..." he muttered as Shelke came into view suddenly.

"Lizu," Vincent said calmly, clutching Dmitri's shotgun. "For a while now, you've put all of us through hell. Well, I think it's time _you_ visited that same hell." He suddenly pointed the shotgun at Sephiroth and pulled the trigger.

The general seized up, then fell over slowly onto his back. Shelke flicked her EM sabers off and gave Vincent a small nod.

It took a moment for Lizu to comprehend what had just happened, and it wasn't until she watched Vincent walk toward Sephiroth's body and pull something from the wound the general had sustained that she realized what had befallen him. "You... but... how is that...?" she sputtered, words failing her. She took a moment, then...

"You removed his soul?" she said quietly.

Vincent nodded, holding up the shard of All's End Dmitri had hidden inside the shotgun shell. "I believe you already know of All's End," he said, a smirk on his face.

They watched as Lizu's expression changed three times. The first expression was one of disbelief, and they watched, with some satisfaction, as she began shaking her head, almost talking to herself, as though pondering the other possibilities. Her expression changed to one of sadness, of grief, and she fell to her knees once more, head hanging sadly.

It wasn't until she looked up a minute later, eyes ablaze, her face contorted with hatred, that they realized what was suddenly happening. Her third expression was one of rage, and they had a feeling they knew what would come next.

"Release him," she commanded quietly, standing slowly. "Release him, and I'll grant you painless deaths."

Vincent did what he decided was the only sensible thing to do at that time, and dropped the shard of All's End to the ground below him. He positioned his foot over it and stomped hard, attempting to break the shard and destroy the nightmare's spirit once and for all. He then proceeded to reload the shotgun quickly.

"Then it's drawn-out, torturous death you choose," she stated, an air of deceptive tranquility about her. Raw magic surged through her palms, and she continued to pulse the magic through her until orbs the size of bowling balls were in her palms. "So be it."

Vincent closed his eyes as he finished reloading the shotgun. "It's time to end this, Lizu. One way or another, your antics end today." He aimed the shotgun at her and prepared to pull the trigger.

"Man, look at that," a new voice said. "So... why can't we just leave these guys to handle her alone again?"

"Because this time, she's actually _our _problem as well," a second, feminine voice sighed. "Seriously, you'd do anything to get out of work like this..."

"Hey, that's not fair," the first man protested, pulling out his weapon. He casually flicked it on and off, electricity crackling each time he turned it on.

The second man groaned. "Can't you two stop messing around for even a minute?" he said, adjusting his sunglasses. "Honestly, I feel like I'm babysitting..."

The first man dropped his electro-mag rod. "Whoa, I think that's the most you've ever said all at once!" he said, a look of mock surprise and awe on his face.

A roaring noise snapped their attention back to Lizu. "So, Valentine," the female said, walking forward. "We've been told to help you beat this bitch into next Friday."

"You picked a fine time to just casually waltz in," Vincent said, not bothering to look at her, keeping his eye on Lizu. "We don't need your help now."

The first man bent over and picked up his rod. "Hey, you've got a couple sleepers, I see," he said, noting Dmitri and Raenya.

"Aeon's... dead," Vincent said slowly. "And as for Raenya..."

The man cracked his neck. "Darn. He was starting to grow on me." He looked at the roaring magic now surrounding Lizu. "So, uh... She basically making a nuke, or is she just showing off?"

Vincent shook his head. "Look, you want to make yourself useful at all? Get Tifa, Manna and Shelke out of here. Bring Raenya and Dmitri with you, too."

"Wait, we were told to help you _fight_, not help you escape."

"I'm not running," Vincent said coolly, firing the shotgun at Lizu. The round impacted the magic surrounding Lizu and exploded, temporarily blinding Vincent. "I'll be fighting her."

Tifa couldn't believe her ears, and slowly eased Manna down. "Vince, you can't be serious!" she protested over the roaring magic. "We're not just going to leave you alone here!"

"I'll be fine," he replied, looking at Tifa. "We still have much ahead of us, Tifa. I'd hate to risk losing you here and now." He looked at the trio that were the Turks. "Get them out of here, now!" he ordered, proceeding to dig into Dmitri's ammunition box and reload the shotgun.

Tifa was about to say something, but her words were suddenly cut off by a firm blow to the back of her neck. She started to fall forward, but was caught by Elena. "Man, she won't quit," she murmured, lifting the martial artist up. "Hey, Reno! Think you can take this one and Aeon?"

"What?! Why do I gotta take the dead guy?!" he protested.

A sudden explosion of magic blinded them all, and Vincent dropped the shotgun in his surprise. He fumbled around on the ground for it and eventually gave up, instead reaching for Cerberus and drawing it quickly.

"There will be no survivors," Lizu's voice echoed from all around them. "Each and every one of you will die here for what you've done to him."

Rude lifted Dmitri up over his shoulder and looked at Vincent. "Much depends on you," he said.

"I know."

"Just like during the Deepground incident."

Vincent closed his eyes momentarily, cracking a half-grin. "The difference is that I'm not averting a global disaster this time; instead, I'm keeping my friends alive."

Rude bent over to pick up Raenya, but found his hand brushed away by none other than Raenya.

"No need," she said groggily. "I can walk just fine." She took a moment to assess the situation, then looked at Vincent. "You don't mean to fight her alone?"

He nodded. "Get out of here. Go wherever the Turks go, and don't come back for me. I'll meet up with all of you in Edge as soon as I can."

She gave him an almost hard look, then... "Fine. I wish you the best of luck, Vincent. Gods know you'll need it for this fight." She looked at the rest of the group and gave a firm nod. "We're escaping while we can! Vincent will be fighting Lizu while we go, and he'll meet up with us in Edge once he's finished!"

Another magical explosion erupted near Vincent's right side. "You think to escape me?" the Cetra's voice rang again.

"GO!" Vincent roared at the top of his lungs.

Everyone else began running, leaving Vincent and Lizu alone. He glanced over his shoulder and gave a small sigh. "I'll see you all later, one way or another..." he murmured.

"A meaningless struggle," Lizu said, continuing to pour magic out relentlessly. "You cannot hope to defeat me alone, Valentine."

"I know," he said, aiming Cerberus at her. "But to save my friends, to save the woman I love, I'd gladly sacrifice myself."

"Then allow me to be the one who sacrifices you," she replied.

Two streams of magic billowed from the sphere surrounding her and shot straight for Vincent's chest.

"Did I say I'd give up here?" he said just moments before the magic streams exploded before him.

"You don't have a choice in the matter."

"_**You underestimate my host,**_" the voice of the Galian growled from behind Lizu. "_**More importantly, you underestimate me.**_"

She glanced over her shoulder at the demon. "A transformation just moments before the explosions. He really doesn't bear any thought for his inner demons."

"_**No, I forced this one on him. Now...**_" The demon flexed its claws menacingly. "_**I believe you and I have a score to settle, Lizu of the Cetra. Shall we bring an end to this drawn-out battle of ours?**_"

"Let's. When you die, I'll have the most fun torturing your 'host'."

"_**You needn't worry yourself about facing Vincent. I'm more than a match for you.**_"

* * *

_Once again, the Turks make an appearance. At Vincent's behest, however, they help the rest escape, leaving Vincent, now reunited with the Galian, to take Lizu down._

_Yes, Manna managed to free the souls trapped inside All's End. And yes, when they all ran away, she took the staff with her._

_The great Sephiroth has fallen once more, though it seems like he fell too easily to me... Well, then again, those ARE potent magics worked into All's End, so I suppose it works fine?_

_Okay, I'm shying away from story rant to off-topic rant now._

_So... Lately I've been busy with more and more games. I've put FFX on hold long enough to start playing Infinite Undiscovery, another game by Square-Enix. Personally, I think this game rules. It's got elements of FFXII in it, in that you can pick and choose your fights as you want, and if you're not careful, you can drag more and more enemies into the fight. I've done this once or twice already, and barely escaped with my life. One gripe I have with the game, however, is that if the main character, Capell, dies and you don't have any Miraculous Medicine (the I.U. equivalent to Phoenix Down) in your inventory, you have to watch and wait while the screen slowly turns black, and you can't do anything while you wait. This takes roughly a minute, I think, which gets annoying after a while. That's really the only problem I have with it, though; it's a very fun game, and if I weren't stumped on the next part of the game's storyline, I'm sure I'd be faring much better._

_Alas, when I'm not playing that, I'm playing Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift on my Nintendo DS. This is, by no right, as awesome as Final Fantasy Tactics was on the PS1, and I never played FFT Advance, either, so... But still, Grimoire is a lot of fun as well. I don't, by any right, like how only certain races can be certain jobs; that is, I don't like how only Viera can be summoners, nor do I like how only Moogles can be fusiliers. I'm also not too crazy about the whole 'quest to uncover new jobs' aspect of the game, especially since I want my only Nu Mou character to be a Scholar. Until I find that job, though, he's been a Black Mage, a White Mage, an Arcanist, a Time Mage, and, as of late, he's a Sage. He bounces between Sage and Black Mage a lot, though, whenever I find the 'Aga' spells; only a Black Mage can learn them, and his secondary skill set pulls from his experiences as a Black Mage. And in case you haven't picked up on this yet, the game is set in Ivalice of FFXII. It's further west of Rabanastre and the like, however, so there are a few key differences. I think it's cool, though, that I've already encountered Vaan and Penelo (oops, spoiler!) a few times now._

_Let's see... I think I'm done with off-topic rant._

_Much has happened for Tifa and Vincent in the last few weeks. They've been separated, then reunited again. And now that Vincent has urged the Turks to take Tifa and the others to safety, they are separated once more. In the next chapter, will Vincent's trust in the Galian's combat abilities be well placed? Or are both he and the demon outclassed by a murderous Lizu? When the fight is over and the dust clears, who will be left standing? And who will have vanished forever? -Spiritslayer_


	24. The Final Battle's End

The demon cracked its neck, fangs bared at Lizu. "_**Come out of that bubble of yours for a straight-up fight, or are you too afraid of me?**_" it sneered.

"I'll emerge from this sphere of magic once you can break through it," Lizu said coolly, clenching her fists, cutting off the current of magic that had been pouring from her palms. "That, of course, does hinge on you _making_ it through alive."

_**Ideas, Vincent?**_

_I got nothing. I tried shooting through that sphere of hers, but could only watch as the bullets exploded against the sphere._

_**I recall that. So, do impacts of any nature cause an explosion, I wonder?**_ The demon flexed its claws and snarled at Lizu. "_**You're pathetic. You have to hide behind a barrier at all times.**_"

She narrowed her eyes at the demon. "Silence, cretin. Just let me kill you already so I can slay your host."

_**Vincent, I'm going in. If the barrier repels my attacks, then I don't see how we'll make it through.**_

The gunslinger didn't reply, and the Galian rushed forward, sweeping its claws in a wide, vertical arc in front of it. The claws struck the spherical barrier, and claw marks were visible.

Then, an explosion followed, sending the demon flying backward. It landed on its back and skidded along the ground a few feet before performing a backflip onto its feet again. The demon shook the dust and dirt off, glaring at Lizu. "_**Drop the barrier so we may have a straight-up fight,**_" it demanded.

"Only once you can prove your strength against my magic will I emerge. If you can't break this sphere, there's no point coming out to fight you. I'd insult myself fighting such a weakling myself."

The demon flexed its claws menacingly. "_**Says the Cetra coward.**_"

Two currents of magic suddenly flew from the sphere at the demon and caught the demon off-guard. Both slammed into the demon and exploded, the demon's howl of pain barely audible over the racket of the explosions.

"You'd do well to treat your executioner with a little more respect," she seethed, retracting the two currents to rejoin the sphere. "I might grant you an easier death if you do."

"_**Am I supposed to care?**_" the demon snarled, staggering to its feet. _**Argh... I might not last much longer if she keeps that up, Vincent.**_

_Understood. I'll try thinking of a way to break her barrier and slay her. Then, I'll need to remove her soul with All's End._

_**Memory serves right, you shattered the shard.**_

_Half of that shard will still work to contain her soul, Galian._

_**Hmph.**_ The demon took a careful step backward. "_**Last chance to come out before I force you out.**_"

"I'd love to see you try it."

The demon complied, rushing forward, claws outstretched.

"Again with the pointless effort." Two more currents of magic lashed out at the demon, the tips of both connecting with the demon.

_**Dammit,**_ the demon thought as both currents exploded on contact. It flew backward once more. _**I can't take much more of that, Vincent. I'm giving you control again, whether you're ready or not.**_

_...Fine. I'll have to think of something as I go, but..._

Lizu watched as it wasn't the Galian that landed on the ground, but Vincent. "So, Valentine. You've finally stopped hiding behind that weak demon."

He drew Cerberus and aimed it at her, even despite the uselessness of the weapon against her sphere of magic. "I see you haven't stopped hiding yet," he shot back.

"I have no reason to emerge. Not yet, at any rate." She opened her hands, palms facing toward him. "Now, to finish you."

Two currents of magic once again flew toward him, but he was ready for them. He dodged them masterfully, smirking. "Even an idiot can figure out how to dodge those after seeing them three times," he said coolly, taking aim once more.

It wasn't until a pillar of magic slammed into his stomach that he realized what she had done. _Clever. She tricked me into avoiding the two currents so that a pillar would catch me off guard._

The explosion sent him flying a fair distance from her, and his back slammed into a piece of junk metal. The impact forced him to drop Cerberus, and he instinctively clutched his gut.

"I know even an idiot would figure out how to dodge those. But not even an idiot could avoid that newfound combination," she said, her voice faint to him. "Admit your defeat, and I'll make your death a quick one."

He tried standing, but the pain in both his stomach and back were preventing him from rising easily. "Go to hell."

"So it's torturous death you desire. I can do that too." She closed her palms and opened them suddenly once more.

Two small spheres of magic appeared outside her larger sphere and flew toward Vincent. Two currents followed, and a single, enormous pillar accompanied the other four magic attacks.

_Damn..._ he thought, eyes darting frantically. _I promised Tifa I'd come back to her, but with Lizu as powerful as she is..._

_**You better not be giving up, Valentine.**_

_Do you have any other ideas?_ His eyes roamed over Dmitri's shotgun, and the sight of it gave him a sudden idea. _That might work..._

_**What might?**_

He didn't reply, but instead forced Hellmasker out. _Well, you're up, like you wanted to be._

_**You sonuva--**_Hellmasker's comments were cut off as the magical onslaught slammed into Hellmasker, crushing the demon effortlessly. Vincent snapped back, still aching, but back on his feet.

_**That was cold, Vincent,**_ the Galian said, almost amused.

He ignored the demon's comment and stopped near Dmitri's shotgun. _I just hope it didn't actually break..._ he thought, eyes now searching for the shard of All's End he had imprisoned Sephiroth's soul inside.

_**I get it now.**_

Lizu let a small sigh out. "What are you doing, stalling for time?"

Whether he was ignoring her, or whether he didn't hear her at all, she would never know. She watched as he bent over and seemed to pick something up from the ground.

He sighed, eyes on the shard of All's End. _So it didn't break. That's good; I can use this to grand effect._ He looked at Lizu and smirked. "Get ready to lose, Lizu."

"Excuse me? Me, lose?" She shook her head, the sphere's surface bubbling violently. "What a sad, sad man you are, thinking you still have a chance." The bubbling sphere suddenly burst toward him, spikes of magic aimed at him.

A flash caught her eyes, and she wondered what he was up to. She felt the spikes impact something, but knew immediately it wasn't Vincent. The sound of a sword flying through the air caught her ears, and she felt her heart jolt.

"Yes, you lose," Vincent said, palming All's End. "Let's see how well you handle yourself against... him." He nodded in front of him.

The tip of a sword was visible, but barely. The spikes disappeared and allowed Lizu a full view of the long sword called Masamune, which was clutched by...

"Sephiroth..." she whispered, gasping.

The general looked up at her, his eyes burning a golden color. He lifted the blade and took a step toward her.

"If memory serves right, you used this same technique to pitch Cloud and Yuffie against myself, Tifa and Raenya," Vincent said, an air of triumph in his voice.

She tore her eyes from Sephiroth's spirit and glared at Vincent. "There are aspects of that materia you don't fully comprehend yet, Valentine," she said coldly. "For example..." She turned her attention back to Sephiroth, pointing her left palm at the general's spirit. "Begone, phantom," she murmured.

A single spike of magic, one unlike anything Vincent had ever seen, flew through Sephiroth's spirit and continued further, sinking into Vincent's chest in time. "Wh... what the...?" he muttered, hand slipping to the spike buried in his chest. He looked up at Sephiroth's spirit and watched in horror as it vanished from view.

"To banish one who's been summoned... It's long been a power of the Cetra, and a power only of the Cetra." She generated a small orb and tapped the orb against the base of the spike. "Die, Valentine."

The slight connection between orb and spike set off an explosive chain reaction, one that traveled the length of the spike in mere seconds. The final, massive explosion caught Vincent square in the chest and knocked him onto his back once more.

_Is this... really all I am...?_ he thought bitterly, clutching his chest. His hand touched damp cloth and he fought the urge to groan, and instead settled for confirming his suspicion. He examined his hand, examined the blood glistening on it.

"Face the facts, Valentine. You're outmatched against me and have no hope. Perhaps if you had kept the others here, you may have had a slight chance at victory, but all alone, you're weak."

_...I hate to admit it, but she's right. Nothing I've done has worked yet. I thought I had a chance using Sephiroth's spirit against her, but..._ He let a slow sigh escape him. _Galian._

_**Valentine.**_

_...I doubt I'll make it through this alive, so... Take care of Tifa for me._

_**How dare you, Valentine. You've finally found happiness, and you're going to just discard it because you can't best some Cetra?**_ The demon began forcing a transformation. _**That does it! I'm taking over, and you won't get control back until either Lizu's beaten, or until I'm dead! And remember, if I die, you die!**_

He made no attempt to resist the transformation being forced upon him.

"You again. Surely you realize you can't win?" Lizu sighed, irritated as the Galian emerged.

"_**Rot in hell, Lizu. While he may not have a chance, I'm not going to give up so easily. Either I defeat you once and for all, or he and I die trying!**_" The demon rushed forward, lashing out with a savage punch.

She replied with countless spikes flying toward the demon. "You can't win."

"_**So you say!**_" the demon roared, ignoring the pain of the needles now tearing through it. It pressed on and, with grand satisfaction, felt its fist collide with Lizu's face. It watched as her barrier wavered fiercely and dissipated, and watched as she fell to the ground, hand at her face. "_**So... there...**_" the demon managed, the pain of the assault it bore catching up to it.

Lizu watched as the demon collapsed on its front and took a small step toward it. "Not bad. If only you'd been more resilient, you might've actually had a fighting chance against me." She pulsed magic into her left palm. "However, as it is, you're a weakling who got one lucky strike. I commend you for acknowledging my sphere's weakness. Not everyone who sees it thinks that the spikes are actually part of the sphere and not extra magic. But that's all I commend you for." She stopped less than a yard from the demon. "Now you die, as does your host."

The demon chuckled weakly, looking up at her. "_**Is that right?**_" it snarled, bringing its fist toward her face at high speed once more. It halted the fist inches from the bridge of her nose and opened the fist. "_**No, it's as he said earlier. You lose.**_"

A flash emanated from the Galian's palm, and the magic in Lizu's palm vanished over time. She slumped to the side after some time.

At the same time, the shard of All's End fell from the demon's palm, a dull clinking noise sounding faintly as it hit the ground. The demon mustered up enough strength to smash its newly formed fist on the shard and examined the area after lifting its fist.

_**And so, the duo is finished,**_ the demon thought, eyes examining the numerous pieces remaining of the shard. _**Shattering All's End while souls are present inside destroys those souls for all eternity, after all.**_

_Indeed. I think... Dmitri said something like that, but I could be wrong..._

The Galian faded, leaving Vincent lying face-down on the ground. His blood slowly began spreading across the ground below him, and he tried pushing himself off the ground. _**If I may rest a moment; I need to recover.**_

He gave a small nod, eventually rolling onto his back. He stared up at the sky, watched as clouds began drifting in. _It looks like there may be a storm,_ he thought. He closed his eyes, resting his hands upon his chest once more, attempting to cease the bleeding with enough pressure. _At least... Tifa's alright..._

_**Hmph. You were serious about dying for her, I see. Does her love for you not mean anything to you, however?**_

_It's because she loves me that I can protect her with my very being. I've never felt that way about anyone before, except Lucrecia. But, she's in the past now._ He tried opening his eyes, but found they wouldn't open. _Damn..._

_**She wasn't an easy foe, but she, as well as Sephiroth, are gone forever. All's End has seen to that. Now, all you can do is try to recover your strength and get back to Edge.**_

_You can't?_

_**Are you insane? My injuries are more numerous than that single hole in your chest. You can't rely on me forever, Vincent.**_

_I guess that's true._ He felt a couple rain drops fall on his face. _Yeah, I was right. It's starting to rain out now._

The demon didn't reply.

_I guess I have no choice but to rest..._ He felt his consciousness slip in and out. _I'll... be in Edge soon..._

_**One can hope.**_

He managed a small smile, one that even he didn't understand. _Tifa..._

His consciousness faded, the rain falling harder against his body.

* * *

_The battle has ended, though through luck or skill remains to be seen. Lizu and Sephiroth have been defeated, but what of Vincent?_

_I'm quite pleased with how the story ended. To diffuse any fears of this being the ending, no, it's not. But I'm working on the final chapter now, and have another story in the making._

_...Says the author of Hiding Secrets, which hasn't been updated in months now. Maybe I should work on that next...? But I quite like the concept of my next story, and I feel it'd be a shame putting it off..._

_If only I could write numerous stories at once..._

_I've finally made some more progress in Infinite Undiscovery! But, this has been met with the accidental battle against roughly ten enemies against my three fighters... Why can't I have four in this party? The secondary party is four big, but the primary party is only three big... I don't get it... Ah well, it just means I have to be more careful as I move about._

_Next chapter, five months have passed since Lizu's defeat. Tifa takes some time to reflect upon the events, and to think about her future now. Will she ever be truly happy again...?_

_Heh, I love keeping people in suspense. Hm, maybe I should put off updating for a month to add to it... Just kidding; I'm not THAT mean. I'll update very soon. -Spiritslayer_


	25. Five Months' Time

Rain thrummed the rooftop of Seventh Heaven, lulling the two children lying in their beds to sleep. It also provided some ambient noise for the noisy atmosphere in the public area of the bar.

Manna was working fervently to keep the drinks coming to those who wanted them, and she glanced about the bar occasionally, searching for the owner. Her eyes caught a man wearing a black cloak and, after finishing up the drink she was currently mixing, she motioned him over to her.

He obliged, stopping a few feet from the counter. "What's up?" he asked her over the din.

"Can you find Tifa? She hasn't been down yet, and given how she's been recently, I'm worried," she replied, giving a smile to a customer as he took the drink she had just finished mixing. "Or maybe she's been down and she's just elsewhere, I don't know."

He nodded. "You going to be alright handling this?" he asked her, motioning slightly to the numerous bottles and glasses behind her.

"Yeah. This isn't the first time I've had to practically 'run the bar', after all."

He gave a small smile, but felt it slip. "Yeah, that's true. Alright, I'm off to find her." He turned and set for the stairs.

--

_Five months already..._ was the first thought to cross her mind. _And she's still depressed..._

"Yuffie?" Shelke asked uncertainly, carefully poking her best friend in the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" She snapped out of her daze and looked at Shelke. "Oh, yeah. Just worried 'bout Teef, is all."

Shelke's expression softened slightly. "We all are. I've never seen her like this before."

"Me either. If she was depressed at all in the past, what's this she's suffering? Mega depression?"

Shelke shrugged, figuring the question didn't need answering. "We've been handed another mission," she said after some time, holding up the small disc in her hand. "I guess you didn't see me take it, though."

"Not really," Yuffie admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "Any idea what we're up to next?"

The former Tsviet shook her head. "No idea. I didn't even get a summary from the man who handed this to me." She glanced at the disc and took a step forward. "We won't figure it out just standing here." She starting walking forward, Yuffie following her after another moment's time.

"It's weird, y'know?" Yuffie finally said, deciding to voice her thoughts. "That Lizu bitch is finally dead and gone, and so is Sephiroth, but it feels like we lost somehow... Well, to me it does, anyway. Why does it feel like we lost when we _know_ we won?"

"Probably because we're not all here," Shelke offered, her thoughts drifting to Vincent. "He's not, after all."

"Maybe that's it. I mean, it's definitely why _Tifa's_ so depressed, I know that." Yuffie glanced over at Shelke. "Um... what about you?"

Shelke met Yuffie's eyes with a slightly hard look. "What do you mean, 'what about me'?"

"Well... your own feelings for Vinny aren't exactly secret, y'know..." Yuffie said slowly.

Shelke felt her tough exterior melt away. "It's that obvious...?" she murmured.

"Pretty much."

"Honestly, I... I miss him. He's been gone for five months; that's enough to drive anyone crazy, let alone into depression."

Yuffie simply nodded.

"No one knows if he's alive, if he's dead, nothing. Remember when we checked the scene of the battle?"

"Yeah."

--

_"There's Lizu, and there's Sephiroth's body," Shelke said, surveying the scene. "Which means Vincent won the fight."_

_"But where's Vinny at? He told Manna he'd meet up with you and the rest in Edge, right? But he didn't, right?" Yuffie said, giving Sephiroth's body a firm, hateful kick. "You don't think his body returned to the planet?"_

_Shelke glared at Yuffie. "Don't suggest that," she said coolly, a hostile air about her. "Ever."_

_Yuffie threw her hands up. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Just... I dunno, it seems likely, given the scene here..."_

_Scraping metal caught their attention and Yuffie whipped around to face the source. Shelke followed suit, vanishing from view almost instantly afterward._

_A man wearing a white lab coat and blue slacks gave Yuffie a quizzical look, shifting his gaze to pinpoint Shelke's location. "What? I'm just here for this," he said calmly, holding up Dmitri's sawed-off shotgun._

_Shelke slowly reappeared. "But... didn't Lizu kill you?" she said cautiously, eyes narrowed slightly._

_Dmitri Aeon chuckled. "Apparently, she missed my heart by an inch. The wound was bad enough to make me pass out, but Raenya has since tended my wound. I'm not dead yet, girl." He shouldered the shotgun and bent over to pick up the ammunition box. "So, the fight ended in our favor, I see."_

_Shelke gave a nod. "Or so it seems. We have no idea what happened to Vincent. It's almost a repeat of the Deepground incident's final conclusion..."_

_"Hmph." He placed the box inside his coat pocket and gave both of them a once-over. "Regardless, I shall take my leave of you now. Much to be done in a short amount of time."_

_"Professor, why don't you join the WRO's ranks? We could use a scientist of--"_

_"Declined," he said, cutting off Shelke's words. "I'm quite content with my job at Shinra, thank you very much."_

_"But Shinra's fallen apart!" Yuffie replied. "Only the Turks are still alive out of all that!"_

_"Ah, but I'm still alive, no? And I am one of the directors now, so that means I have some semblance of superiority over the Turks." He cracked a small grin. "Then there's our president."_

_"Huh? Wait, who's your president?" Yuffie asked, frowning. "Rufus died in the Shinra explosion four years ago."_

_"That you know of," he said, still smirking. "You'll excuse me." He turned to leave._

_"Wait."_

_He sighed and stopped, turning to face Shelke. "What now, girl?"_

_"You realize, correct, that we'll likely go after you should you choose to pursue Project Slayer any further, correct?"_

_"I'd love to see you try it," he said almost snidely. "Stop treating me like I'm your friend, while you're at it; we were never friends, only allies of necessity against Lizu." He turned to leave again._

_"Professor--"_

_He whirled around, shotgun aimed at Shelke's head. "Silence, whelp," he said, annoyed. "I wish to return to my research and projects, but I can't while you blabber on like a five-year-old."_

_"I dare you to shoot," she snapped at him, glaring through narrowed eyes at him._

_An empty clicking noise was heard, and it took a moment for Shelke and Yuffie to register what the noise was._

_"Imagine the shotgun was loaded," he said, holstering it before turning once more. "You'd be dead right now if it were."_

_They watched him leave, and Shelke shook her head in disbelief. "He... actually pulled the trigger..." she whispered._

_Yuffie gave the retreating Dmitri the rudest of signs and shook her head. "Well, that's just messed up. We're still no closer to finding Vinny."_

--

"That Dmitri guy is still a prick, even after all that happened," Yuffie sighed, pulling out her keycard and holding it up to the scanner.

"No matter how you look at it, we only won the fight because of his plan. Ally of necessity or not, he was an invaluable ally to us. Meaning he's also going to be a thorn in our side if we have to fight against him."

Yuffie nodded as the light of the scanner pinged green. "Well, we can hate on him later. Time to see what our mission is."

Shelke stepped in behind Yuffie, closing the door behind the two of them.

--

"This doesn't work either..." was heard from the other side of the door before her.

"Dmitri?" Raenya said softly.

"Enter."

She opened the door and stepped inside.

"What news have you?" he said promptly, sparing no pleasantries, continuing to poke a rat with an electrified needle.

She cleared her throat. "Valentine's been located."

He paused for a moment. "Ask me why I should care."

"He broke you out of WRO prison, sir, and that's how you repay his aid?"

"Helping him best Lizu was my repayment. I'm no longer indebted to him, or any of his little friends."

She couldn't help supressing a small grin. "You're back to your old self."

"Indeed. Now, where is the unfortunate gunslinger located? Rotting away in WRO prison for breaking me out? Hiding in Lucrecia's cavern? Wallowing in pity in that coffin of his in Shinra Manor?" He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Well, spit it out. I don't have time to waste."

"Reports have been made that it's not Valentine, but one of his demons roaming the island inhabited by goblins. However, his demons cannot exist if he's dead, and if they're alive, then he must be too."

"The Galian, no doubt," he muttered, turning his attention back to the rat. "Send the Turks to pick up our unfortunate gunslinger and have him brought back to Edge."

"Sir? May I ask why?" she asked cautiously.

"You can, but I won't answer."

She slid her arms around him from behind. "No matter how you look at it, you consider all of them allies, if not friends," she whispered.

"Ridiculous," he muttered. She detected a tone that contradicted his word, however.

"I'm glad to have you back, Dmitri."

"...It's good to be back," he finally said quietly.

--

"There you are," she heard someone say from the doorway. "I've been looking all over for you, you know."

She glanced over her shoulder at the man. "Hey," she said almost weakly.

"So... mind if I join you?" he asked, stepping forward.

She shook her head, and he sat next to her on the steps of Seventh Heaven. "Manna's running the bar again tonight," he said, trying to break the silence.

"That's fine," she murmured.

He glanced over at her for a moment. "Did you hear? Manna and Cloud are..." He hesitated, and let the topic die. _Bad idea._

"I heard," she replied. He sensed her mood plunge and regretted mentioning it.

"...Rumor is that my brother's not dead. Some say they've seen him recently, but rumors are rumors..."

"That's good to hear," she said indifferently.

He sighed and looked up at the edge of the awning. "...You can't stay like this forever, Tifa. You know that, right?" he finally said, the casual air abandoning him, a serious air taking over.

She drew her knees in toward her chest. "...I know..." she mumbled. "But each day, I think... 'what if he comes today?' And, even if for a little while, that hope makes me..."

He gently put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a small, one-armed hug. "You're worrying all of us, Tifa. We hate seeing you like this."

Her shoulders started shuddering slightly as the wind blew over them. With the wind came the rain it blew onto both of them.

"I don't see how you can sit here," he muttered. He stood for a moment and removed his cloak, placing it carefully around Tifa before sitting down again. "It's still cold at nighttime, Tifa, even if it's early summer. Even more so when it rains."

"But if I don't sit here, how will I know he's back...?" she said, shivering even under the cloak. "I've already lost your brother, your own 'death' was confirmed by Shinra ten years ago, I nearly lost Cloud four years ago... I can't stand losing someone else close to me, especially not him..."

He didn't reply, primarily because he was unsure of what to say. Instead, he pulled a letter out of his pocket and began reading it to himself.

She glanced over at it. "...Who's it from?" she asked softly.

"Will. He's the one that said Cy might still be alive. 'Course, Will knew from the start that I was alive all that time, but at my request, he kept that quiet..."

"I see..." She resumed her silent vigil on the step.

He finished reading the letter and pocketed it once again. "It's been ages since I last heard from any of the old gang..." he muttered to himself.

"...Vil." She looked over at him.

"Hm? What's up?" he responded.

"I... need some time alone. Please..."

He gave an almost heavy sigh, standing slowly. "You need to talk to someone, you only need to come find me," he said. "Never forget you're like a sister to me, Tifa. When family despairs, I despair too."

"..."

He looked at her eyes and gently wiped the tears leaking from them away with his finger. "Come on. I'm not letting you catch a cold out here." He stood and tried getting Tifa to her feet, and managed only after a couple minutes of trying. "In we go," he said almost brightly, trying to lighten her mood.

--

Tifa tried reading the book Vincent had given her three and a half years ago, Demons Past, but found her mind wandering.

She was seated upon his bed in the same manner he would sit upon it, and for a moment, she wondered how he could sit in such an uncomfortable position for so long.

_I give up..._ she thought bitterly, closing the book. _I just can't read tonight..._ She set the book upon the nightstand next to her and slid down the bed, resting her head upon the pillow. She gazed up at the ceiling and listened to the relatively faint ruckus downstairs. _This is what he's used to hearing while I'm busy working..._ she thought. _Vince... where'd you go...?_

The din downstairs suddenly quieted down, and it took a few moments for her to register the sudden silence. She sat up slowly and looked at the closed door. _What the...?_ She rose from the bed and took a slow step toward the door to the hallway. _Why is it so quiet...?_

She heard the third step from the bottom creak, and she knew someone was walking up the stairs. She could've almost sworn the steps were almost... clicking against the wood.

_Could... it be...?_ she wondered, choosing this moment to throw the door open. She watched it swing outward and watched as it unexpectedly stopped, as though it hit something. Or someone.

She heard a groan of pain from the other side of the door, the tone making her heart leap. She almost ran into the hallway and closed the door behind her, taking in the person she hit with the door with her eyes.

Blood was faintly visible upon the crimson cloak wrapped around the figure, and his black hair hid his eyes from her view. She imagined, however that crimson orbs were examining her, and she felt her lower lip tremble as she reached a hand out to touch his shoulder. Her eyes slid over a miserably healed wound in his chest, one that seemed almost inches from his heart. Her eyes then slid to what was easily the man's most defining feature: a golden left forearm, whose shine seemed to be lost.

"Oy. We kinda figured you'd want him back," she heard a familiar voice say.

She looked down the stairs for a moment to spot a redhead walking away, a bald man looking up at her before following his partner.

"Consider it Aeon's parting gift," the bald man offered in a cryptic manner before he left her sight.

"Thank you," she whispered, closing her eyes. She stepped forward and hugged the man before her tightly, as though afraid she'd lose him if she let go.

He returned the hug, though in an awkward manner, as he was trying to keep excessive pressure off the wound in his chest. "I'm home," his voice sounded, cracking from what seemed to be excessive disuse.

"Welcome home, Vince," she whispered into his ear, allowing the tears to fall freely from her eyes.

Unbeknownst to her, his eyes were also clouded with tears.

_**About time you dragged your sorry ass back to your 'home'.  
**_

_Galian._

_**Hm?**_

_Shut up._

The demon's chuckling rang through his mind as the two stood in their embrace for what felt like eternity.

_I could've had a lot more fun with this chapter, but that would entail me leaving out any clues as to whether or not Vincent was still alive. Then again, my definition of 'fun' does sometimes encompass leaving others in agonizing suspense, so that's not necessarily a good thing..._

_Yes, Dmitri lives. I wanted to add an interesting twist to the final chapter, and his survival seemed like a really good one._

_I feel like doing one last chapter for this story, but if I don't, this is definitely the final chapter for Of Crystals Born. So, just in case I don't do another chapter, I'd like to thank all my reviewers. **Emilee-san.**,** Federaldragon**, **Kukuxmusuu**, **Evilblanket**, **TifaValentine99**, **Ducks-Go-Moo-3000**, **anbu713**, **xXRemXx**, and **BlueWings92**. Thanks much for all your reviews, and I apologize if I didn't get back to everyone of you on them. The reviews were much appreciated, and I hope to see more as I continue writing other stories._

_Off-topic rant._

_I'm kind of put out at how... short the first disc of Infinite Undiscovery is, but regardless, I've moved on to the second disc. A little disapproving of the way it's developing, but hey, I'm still playing it, so there's SOMETHING there keeping me fixed to it... I want to say I like it, but that's difficult to say at this point..._

_I know I don't tend to 'rant' about World of Warcraft much, but I've been playing that quite a bit recently. I've reassigned the title of 'main' from my 65 tauren hunter on Velen to my 50 blood elf warlock on Terrokar. I just have too much fun with warlocks, since they're much better at handling groups of enemies at once. I don't die a whole lot, but maybe that's owing to her Alchemy skill being at 300... Yes, my warlock's a female. The female blood elves look much better than the males, I think. Besides, she was influenced by the character Ilyasviel from Fate/Stay Night, and she's even named as such. However, as I've always been one of the Horde, the blood elves were the only REMOTELY human-looking class on the Horde side, so I apologize ahead of time for any confusion this may generate. And yet, for all the inspiration, for all the brilliance of the anime series from which my warlock is inspired, only ONE person has made the connection. Just one. That soul was on Ilya's old realm of Dragonmaw, and I since transferred so I wouldn't have to level a new character from level 1 just so I could play alongside my brother and a few other real life friends. Ilya's my only character inspired by an anime character thus far, however; the rest are just kind of... there. It ashames me to admit that, but it seems to be the case..._

_If I don't do one last chapter for this, then my newest story is going to be more wrought with humor than this one and The Galian. I need a break from the 'serious side' of myself, and this new story is definitely an outlet for that. Or maybe I should start working on Hiding Secrets again...? It's been way too long since I last updated that one, and again, I just don't know how to keep it going._

_And now I withdraw from to play Ilyasviel. Until I return. -Spiritslayer  
_


End file.
